How To Tell Him
by loveforlater
Summary: Tony Stark just realized he has a (possible) crush on Loki, his (arch) enemy who is also the (step) brother of Thor (an overprotective brother). Unlike most people, Tony ain't afraid to tell somebody he thinks they're cute, or might actually like them (ie Pepper). But Loki? That's a whole different beast (god to be exact) entirely. Besides, Tony likes a challenge.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Realization

* * *

Tony Stark grits his teeth as he flies around, avoiding the burning buildings of New York. It's Loki again, causing more mayhem. Captain America and Thor are on the god right now, but Tony's off to help them out. Loki's a strong god (Tony knows this; getting thrown out of a window really does a number on one's perspective on things) and the two heroes need all the help they can get.

"Oh, Stark! You came." Loki smirks, turning to face Tony, who snorts in his helmet. "I was unsure if you were to come try to stop me."

"What happened to your armor?"

"This?" Loki looks down and lightly chuckles. "I'm surprised you noticed. You are the first to comment on it." Tony smiles childishly, finding pride in the fact that he noticed first. _Wait, what?_ "It is nothing special."

"At least you still have your golden helmet, even though your armor's all black." Tony smiles with a shrug. "Still sexy, Loki."

It's true. The only thing gold about Loki is his helmet. Every inch of his armor is pitch black and his robes are a rich green that matches the magic surrounding him. Loki's raven black hair stands out against his armor, and the blackness of the armor makes his pale skin stand out more and his emerald green eyes just make the whole uniform work.

"You think?" Loki laughs, his eyes sparkling with glee and humor. Tony raises an eyebrow. Maybe the god is further down the deep end than the team originally thought. "I truly am thankful for the compliments, Tony dear."

And...click! Right there, picture perfect! The moment Tony actually felt his breath catch at the sound of his name coming from Loki's mouth and _damn_ it is it a sound Tony wants on replay. _Tony, Tony, Tony._ The man bites his lip, feeling his face heat up. Thank the nine realms he has his visor down.

"Glad to make you feel better about yourself," Tony rasps, his voice tapering down as the god turns to face Tony's friends and fuck. Loki's got and ass and he's in human pants, black skinny jeans to be exact and-

"Tony? Are you frozen? Did Loki freeze up your suit?"

Tony blinks and finds Steve and Thor in front of him, Loki (sadly) gone.

"Where'd he go?" he mumbles, letting his visor rise.

"He left, Man of Iron." Thor sighs. "But, the question is, did my brother-"

"He did nothing!" _except look fucking cute._ "I'm fine. My suit is fine. I was just admiring-" _the view of Loki's backside._ "-the sight of your conversation?" Tony's voice rises at the end of his statement, so he clears his throat and tries again. "I can tell when I'm not needed and obviously I wasn't needed."

"What about the flirting?" Steve (Mr. Goody-Twoshoes) crosses his arm, blue eyes narrowed at Tony. "Complimenting our enemy on his change of armor? We're not friends with him, Tony."

"I know. I just thought I'd let him know that-" _he's so handsome and cute and I just wanna hold him in my arms and tell him everythings while we cuddles and then talk about feelings and our pasts and how much we love each other and-_

"Tony! You stopped talking in the middle of your sentence!" Steve grumbles, taking off the billionaire's helmet. "What is going on? Loki's rendered you speechless!" _with his amazing looks._

"I'm sorry, my mind went blank." Tony chuckles half heartedly. _Why in the world was I thinking about feelings with Loki, the stupid (not really, he's actually really smart! You see one time, wait. Wrong story) god of mischief?_ "I gotta go."

Before the other two heroes can get a word in, Tony shoots up into the sky, angry at himself. What is going with him? Why is he acting like he likes Loki? The god didn't even cast a spell on him!

Which means the feelings are real.

FUCK.

There is no way possible he could have a schoolgirl crush on Loki. Seriously. So what he blushed when Loki said his name instead of Stark? So what if he's proud he was the first to compliment Loki? It means nothing.

Absolutely _nothing_.

Why?

Because that fucking god must've put a spell on him while he was thinking about his ass.

Tony flies back to his tower and runs to his lab, finding that golden scepter that used to belong to the green eyed god.

"Jarvis, are there any fluctuations in the amount of magic near this thing?"

"No sir. The magic levels are level and constant."

Shit!

Tony slams his fist onto one of his tables, snapping the furniture in half before he gets out of his suit.

It can't be real! It must be some sort of undetectable magic Loki's put on him!

He's not the only one who thinks Loki's cute! Natasha once told him if Loki wasn't a bad guy, she would totally hit that (actually, when Tony asked if she thought Loki was cute, she gave him a look that could put the devil and Hela to shame. Tony took it as a yes).

He even told Thor that Loki looks pretty hot, but that didn't end too well.

Either way, there is not way possible he can have a crush on Loki. Tony doesn't do crushes, not on girls, guys or even Norse gods.

So, of course, this is all just a little mistake, right? A slip of the mind. Loki just looks really hot in that outfit and he can make Tony feel warm inside.

Nothing special.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: (Serious) Denial Part 1

* * *

Tony wakes up the next day stress free, the battle from yesterday wiped from his short term memory. Only when he sits up does he remember everything, causing him to plop back down onto his bed with a groan.

"Fuck." Tony mumbles, forcing himself out of bed. He really doesn't need to face Steve and Thor who are gonna pester him until he cracks and spews his (false) hypothesis.

"_Sir, there is a meeting being held with Director Fury downstairs. Your attendance is mandatory._"

"I have some important business to do." Tony mumbles to his AI system, who snorts. Or makes a sound like a snort.

"_Director Fury demands your attendance. This meeting is, and I quote, 'much more fucking important than any bitchy project you have to work on, Stark'. I would recommend attending the meeting._"

"Nope. Not going. I feel sick."

"_They have captured Loki, sir._"

"What?"

Tony springs out of his bed, ignoring his erratic heartbeats at the mention of Loki, and slips on some decent clothing, brushing his hair before he calmly walks downstairs.

"Jarvis told me about an important meeting?" Tony sits down at a seat, ignoring the glares of the other members of the team. As long as Bruce isn't going to Hulk out, everything's fine.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we are having an important meeting, Stark." Fury grumbles, standing up. "And it's about Loki."

Everyone sits and becomes attentive.

"What is wrong with my brother?" Thor asks innocently. "I could feel his magic last morrow and it was strange."

"Strange as in?"

"Different. It seemed fueled by some other force, almost as if he is not terribly angry any more." Thor sighs. "Nevertheless, I am no magic expert, so my words may be inaccurate."

"It makes sense compared to the data we have acquired." Fury gathers everyone's attention. "After he disappeared on your asses, we spotted him across the country in San Francisco. There he met with some people and completely wiped them out."

Fury turns to a screen and plays some footage.

"I have told you guys many a time that Midgard is mine." Loki hisses, green eyes narrowed at the blue creeps on screen.

"You have done nothing to start taking over this land."

"There is an army of imbeciles back in New York, the capital of Midgard. Once they are defeated, Earth will be mine and you shall not be allowed on my realm."

"Do you want to test that?"

That familiar smirk appears on Loki's lips and Tony's eyes soften at the sight of the beautiful god.

Before the blue creeps could speak another word, flashes of green magic flew from Loki and attacked his enemies, killing them all in less than three seconds.

If this is the magic Loki has, why is Earth still not his?

"Hello Avengers. I should have broken the camera, but you know who I am." Loki turns toward the camera with a smile. "You should be saying thank you. The people I just killed are of a different species that wants Earth. I have a personal vendetta against them, so lucky you."

The camera goes black and Thor grits his teeth. Everyone turns to him.

"Personal vendetta?" Tony asks half heartedly. "I thought the only people he hates are us!"

"No, my brother has made himself an enemy of many people." Thor stands. "I must leave and find my brother."

"No. You can't go see that maniac of a god." Fury snarls. "He may be your brother, but we have some things to discuss. Like why a personal vendetta would stop Loki from letting other species conquer us. He has one with Thor, but ended up letting him go. So, why doesn't he let them go?"

"The god's got an ego. He probably has to feel good about himself by trying to take over the planet. So, in order to not get his ego bruised, he'll stop everyone from trying to take over Earth." Tony snorts. "I just wonder if he knows that by doing this, he's protecting us."

"Don't let him know though, or else he'll stop and then we'll be screwed." Clint blurts chaotically. "Loki's the only protection we've got. We must keep it that way."

"Who would've ever thunk that Loki would end up being our protector?" Fury gives Thor a little smirk. "Looks like you've got some competition, big guy."

Tony can't believe it. Everyone is actually moderately happy and joking around. Even Fury is, which is a miracle beyond miracles. And it's all because of Loki.

Tony smiles to himself as that weird warm feeling he used to feel with Pepper consumes his chest.

"Stark, would you mind sharing with us what's got you smiling like a fucking idiot?"

"What? Me? Smiling?" Tony stumbles over his words as he comes out of his reverie. "I wasn't smiling! And if I was, it certainly was not because of Loki!" _Wait. That sounds suspicious._ "Or anything of the like!"

The Avengers turn toward Tony with varied looks.

"You never did explain why you left so early after Loki left yesterday." Steve frowns.

And thus the reason why Tony wanted to stay in bed all day.

"I, uh, had work to do." Tony stands. "Well, I'm leaving. I have to work on my armor. See y'all later."

Ad before even Fury can say something (more like shout something), Tony's speed walking through the hallway downstairs to his lab.

"Jarvis, why did you lie to me?" Tony grumbles as he sits down at his desk. "You told me they captured Loki."

"_They did, sir. On video._"

"Smartass."

"_I learn from the best._"

"Still, why in that form? You could've just told me they have the guy on video." Tony speaks absentmindedly as he types on his computer.

"_Given you were murmuring his name in your sleep, I figured that you would be worried for the god and go see him_."

"Jarvis, I worry about-" Tony swivels in his seat. "Wait, what? I murmur in my sleep?!"

"_Yes, sir. Only after stressful days. Do you want me to play back your sleep cycle?_"

"Fuck yes!"

Tony pulls up a screen of him sleeping and his AI system starts playing it for him.

"No. Shtop iiiit." the video Tony twitches in his sleep on his stomach. "Lokiiii, don't do it."

"The fuck?" Live Tony exclaims, his face turning extremely red.

"Your hair...so..." Video Tony falls back asleep.

"_To spare you the torture of your embarrassment, I will summarize the rest._" Jarvis closes the video and Tony shoves the holographic screen away. "_You were telling Loki not to kiss you, yet begging him to do so. And later, shortly before you woke up, you kept talking about how he makes you feel like carbonated soda. Your words exactly, sir._"

"_LIES_!" Tony yells in an Invader Zim yelp, jumping out at his seat, pointing a somewhat threatening finger at a wall. If anyone came into his room at that instant, if they didn't know any better, one would think him crazy. "Loki does not, and will never make me feel 'bubbly' or 'warm' inside! I forbid it!"

"_Sir, you can't forbid your feelings from feeling something._"

"Yes, I can! I am Tony Stark! I don't feel." Tony sighs. "I don't love. And I never will! Except for Pepper, but that didn't work out anyway!"

"Sound to me like someone's in denial."

Tony lets out an unmanly squeal, jumping a couple inches into the air before he turns to his door and spots Captain America in the doorway, smirking a little.

"What are you doing here, Rogers? You're not supposed to be in here!"

"Fury sent me after you." Steve walks into the room, shaking his head. "Now, your quick departure makes sense."

"What? No, not you too! I do not have any feelings but disgust and hatred for Loki!"

"So you flirt with people you think are disgusting?"

"I flirt with everything, Steve!" Tony growls. "Get out! There is nothing to see here!"

"You know, there's a phrase that someone told me that might apply to you." the bulky man puts a hand in Tony's shoulder. "'There's a fucking river called de Nile. Build a bridge and get the fuck over it'. That's exactly what he told me. And, it worked. It totally worked, Tony. Maybe you should do the same." Steve chuckles. "Besides, Egypt is nice. The people there are actually friendly."

Tony can't help himself, he falls out laughing.

"Pfft, you actually, built a bridge over the Nile?"

"Yes. Isn't that what the saying says to do?"

"Yeah." Tony holds back a giggle. "Don't you ever change, Cap. Don't you ever change."


	3. Serious Denial

A/N: I love the reviews! Thank you so much! I didn't expect to get _any_ so soon after the first post!

Here's the story! And then the next update will be on Saturday!

* * *

Chapter 3: (Serious) Denial Part 2

* * *

Tony decides maybe he should take Steve's words to heart. So two weeks later, he packs his bags and says 'adios' to his amigos and Natasha and leaves on a plane to Eygpt.

Already, Tony feels much calmer and relaxed. Maybe it's the warmth of the sun, or the cool atmosphere. Either way, Tony's glad he took Steve's literal advice. So far, so good.

"Do any of you guys know where any planks of wood are?" Tony asks, adjusting his sunglasses. A couple people point toward a stash of planks and Tony thanks them for their services.

The man proceeds to take the planks and drive all the way to the Nile, where he laughs until he almost passes out as he sees Steve's messy bridge.

"Wonder what he had to get over." Tony chuckles, rolling up his sleeves. "Alright, Tony. Let's get to work."

Building a bridge seems to be harder than Tony originally thought. His building plans are all screwed up, which is a major disappointment. On top of that, he left most of his supplies in his hotel a few miles away and he does not want to head on back.

By the end of the day, the only thing Tony's done is cut the planks and size them according to his new and improved building plans. Steve said this was supposed to be relaxing, not stressful! People aren't supposed to be staring at him and he's not supposed to take more than a day building this damn bridge!

On the plus side though, building the bridge has gotten Loki completely off his mind. See? He's not in denial. Jarvis and Steve are just screwing with his head. He doesn't have a crush on Loki. He probably just had a hiccup with his arc reactor from the shock and horror of such a subject.

Everything is doing wonderfully well for the smart billionaire until he actually sees the fucking god laughing and chatting with some dark haired woman.

Tony can feel his blood boiling as if all that construction work did nothing to help distract him. He's gritting his teeth and glaring daggers at the woman and he doesn't notice he's doing so until both Loki and his girlfriend (Tony can't even think of that word without shuddering. Seriously, how can Loki get a girl? Wait, that's an obvious question. He's an extremely hot good that sends Tony drooling an- wait, no. Tony does not drool.) turn toward him.

"Oh, Stark!" Loki calls cheerfully, standing up. Tony cocks his head in fake confusion before he lets a small smile grace his face.

"Loki. What a surprise." Tony deadpans, walking to the two.

"I must admit this is a surprise for me too, seeing you here in Eygpt." Loki helps his girl out of her chair. The young girl grins widely at Loki and just that small action sets Tony on fire. Why is he acting like a jealous schoolgirl?

"Yeah, um, Steve wanted me to build a bridge over the Nile. I just started working on it today."

"Oh? A bridge? What are you denying yourself, Tony?"

Fuck!

Loki just said his name! And _oh god_, it's sending shivers down his spine as he recalls those two sweet syllables slipping out between those two soft lips and _oh fuck_. He's grinning like a fool, isn't he? Loki's girlfriend is looking at him like he's crazy and Loki looks amused.

"Uh, what? Who said I was denying myself something?" Tony snorts, waving a hand in a passing manner. "I just wanted to build a bridge. Because of Steve." Loki raises an eyebrow. "No, not in that way! We aren't together! It's just that, um, we're having a contest. And I'm gonna win. Yeah. A contest that I'm winning. Because I'm that awesome and I can do anything, especially with blah blah blah..."

Tony continues talking and the dark haired girl turns to Loki.

"Does he always do this?"

"Talk? He does love the sound of his voice. But, no, he doesn't usually talk this long."

"...and so, you know, it's like a vacation." Tony finishes his long ramble and sighs. "Anyway, I should be heading off to my hotel. I'll see you next battle, right?"

"Sure, if you make it." Loki smiles and puts a hand on Tony's shoulder. Bolts of electricity rush through Tony, leaving him sensitive and breathless. Just the feel of those long pale fingers, _oh fuck_. What is wrong with him? What is Loki doing to him? "I hope to see you soon, Stark."

"Of course." Tony nods his head politely.

"I should get going myself. It was nice meeting you. Loki's told me a lot about you." That gets a raised eyebrow. "And the Avengers, of course." the dark haired lady smiles and Tony turns to Loki, who's rolling his eyes.

"Darling, aren't you going to go?"

"Yes, I am." she huffs with exaggeration and then kisses Loki's cheek, making Tony jealous. Why? Don't know, don't really care at this point.

The girl walks off and Tony watches Loki watch her walk away with something akin to love in his eyes.

This should make Tony happy, right? Loki has a soft side that the Avengers can manipulate to capture Loki.

But, Tony's not happy. He's pissed, angry, sad, and jealous, all rolled up into one emotion.

"Who's she?" Tony spits, ignoring the temptation to cross his arms and stomp his foot like an overgrown child.

"Oh! That is Hela. She's my-"

Tony's phone rings. He's thankful for it because he really doesn't want to hear Loki tell him about his new girlfriend.

"Sorry, I probably have to go." Tony says in a tone that contradicts his statement.

"Of course." Loki nods with a smile and walks off, turning to face Tony with his smirk that makes Tony feel like carbonated soda. "She seemed to like you. You better watch out, she's the devil incarnate."

"Devil?"

Of course Loki would go out with the Devil. He's Loki! He needs an evil sidekick-

"Yes, my daughter is the ruler of Hel."

-not girlfriend! For reasons incomprehensible at that moment, Tony is elated. Fucking happy. The word daughter has officially become his favorite word of his personal dictionary (although Tony Stark takes a strong second).

"Oh. That's pretty cool." is all he says, but on his way to his hotel, he's glowing inside and probably wearing a shit eating grin that's most likely freaking out everyone.

Only when he lays down in bed does he realize he's glowing inside all because fucking Loki doesn't have a girlfriend.

What. The. Fuck.

* * *

The next day, Tony continues to building his bridge over the Nile and ends up breaking half of his boards frustrated with himself.

He is not in love with Loki! He doesn't think of Loki that way! The god is just messing with his brains somehow! He's a god for fucks sake, he can do anything!

Of course, then the question would be why would Loki make Tony start liking him? What advantage would that give the god?

Tony stands up sweating, his shirt clinging to his sticky back. The sun seems to be shining all his glory on Tony. All it does is make Tony extremely hot. And stressed.

This whole 'build a bridge over the Nile' thing is not working out literally and figuratively. Wait, no. Just literally because Tony's not in denial about anything. He accepts everything but the notion that he maybe have a crush on Loki, which is disgusting. And horrific. Jarvis and Steve were just messing with him. And Loki's messing with his emotions by looking as cute as fuck.

Tony's sure this stupid little phase will be over soon enough.

By the end of the week, Tony's completed his high tech bridge and is actually proud of himself. It was relaxing and stressful and annoying and bitchy, but he got it done. And now he can head back to the Avengers base where the others must be waiting for them. And then he'll spill the secret about Loki's soft spot: his daughter Hela.

"Hey guys, I'm back!" Tony exclaims, walking into his tower, suitcase in hand. The billionaire stands in the doorway jaw dropped as he spots Thor and Loki in deep conversation, Thor with his hammer in hand and Loki with his beautiful green magic glowing around his shirtless body.

_Holy motherfuck-_

"Oh, Man of Iron! You are back quite early."

"I'm back late. I said I was only going to be there for a couple days, not a week." Tony grumbles, trying his very hardest not to look at the incredibley hot, sweaty and sexy shirtless green eyed god in front of him. "Um, what is Loki doing here?"

"We were just having a conversation, Tony. It's nothing to worry about." Loki smirks calmly and Tony has a brain overload.

He's so stressed out and torn and fuck, Loki's shirtless and sexy, but he doesn't like him! And the god said his name, oh will he ever get tired of that? And his eyes and the magic! It's so perfect and his sweaty black hair! Tony just wants it all!

"Ok then. Thor, when you're done fucking with your brother, you can possibly tell me where the others are."

"They are hanging out somewhere."

"What?"

"That is exactly what I thought. Thor here is the most social of them all, I would've thought he would go with them." Loki sighs and releases his magic. "Pity. Well, now that you have company, I shall be on my way."

"How's Hela?"

Both gods freeze at Tony's words, one with confusion and the other with slight shock.

_Oh yeah, Loki. I brought her up into the conversation. Revenge for being shirtless._

"Oh, she's, um, fine." Loki says, quickly grabbing his shirt. He passes Tony a note. "Here. Take this." and the god leaves in a puff of smoke.

Tony grins foolishly at the scribbles on the sheet of paper. He's really screwed over.

"What is it that my brother gave you? Do you need to contact SHEILD about it?"

"No, it is fine, Thor," Tony sighs happily, ignoring every emotion that wants to burst from his body. "I'm so tired. Let me get some rest."

The billionaire proceeds to walk to his room, clutching the paper to his chest. He doesn't even realize he's fallen asleep with it until the next day.

"Jarvis, I've got a problem."

* * *

Review, review, review!

Toodles,

-loveforlater ❤


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks for all the lovely reviews!

This chapter isn't the best, but it don't worry, it gets better!

By the way, _**bold italics**_ is Tony texting and _regular italics_ is Loki texting :3

* * *

Chapter 4: Reluctant Admission

* * *

Tony sits at his desk in his basement, staring at his cell phone and the sheet of paper beside it. The number's already entered in, but that's not the issue. The issue is, should he call?

Obviously, he shouldn't and should immediately tell SHIELD he got Loki's phone number, but Tony wants to be a selfish bitch and find glee in the fact that he got the sexy god's number.

Maybe, he could text Loki. Maybe ask if he's got any fighting plans and if not, then maybe they can just hang out or-

Fuck!

Did Tony just think about asking Loki out on a date?

"Jarvis, I think I'm sick."

"_What do you want me to do about it, sir?_"

"Make me feel better. I have a headache coming on."

"Hey Tony, did that bridge building help at aaalll-" Steve holds out his last word as Tony turns to him with purple bags under his eyes and red bloodshot eyes.

"I need lots of coffee. That stupid bridge building gave me time to think." Tony turns back to his phone, texting Loki '_**I hate you**_'. "I crossed the Nile, but I have nothing I'm denying myself. That's what I told Loki when I saw him in Egypt with his girlfriend material daughter."

"You saw Loki in Egypt and you didn't call SHIELD?"

"He wasn't doing anything!" Tony snaps back, extremely irritated. "He was spending time with his daughter. Who am I to interrupt their time together?"

Tony's phone vibrates in his hand and he's surprised to find that Loki actually texted back. The man doesn't even realize how much he's perked up.

"Who's texting you?"

"Oh, Loki." _Feelings mutual, Stark._

"You have his number and you didn't give it to SHIELD? Anthony Stark, what has gotten into you?"

"You know, can't a guy text another guy without having to tell SHIELD?"

"Not when the other guy is our enemy, Stark!" Steve's obviously getting mad. "Give SHIELD Loki's number."

_**Glad to know that. Wouldn't want to find out you actually have feelings for me.**_

"No. We are having a friendly conversation here. Maybe I can find a way into his mind so we can find out more about him and his magic." Tony sighs. "After I weasel some information out of him, I'll make his number public, ok? Just, don't tell anyone."

"Stark,"

"Don't do it, Steve. I'm countin' on you here."

_Pity. I was going to tell you of my newly discovered feelings for you, Tony._

Tony's face erupts with blush, a shy smile on his lips.

He completely ignores the part of him that questions his reaction.

"Tony? Are you okay? You're face is all...wait. Are you blushing?" Steve's eyes widen.

"Me? Blush? Are you going blind in your old age, Cap?" the texting man snorts as he responds to Loki.

**_Newly discovered feelings, eh? Didn't know you fancy the men you toss out of windows._**

"I'm not blind. You were blushing."

"Leave, Steve. I'll talk to you later. I've got a lead here." Tony mumbles, crumpling up the sheet of paper with Loki's number (and a stupidly drawn heart with a sketch of a winking Loki). "I'll call you when I've got something."

"Ok."

_It's a fetish of mine. Tony dear_ (as he reads that, Tony's heart skips beats) _I'm afraid to say that despite our budding relationship, I'll still going to have to kill you._

_**Kill me? But I thought we were friends.**_

_The very best, Stark, but sometimes that doesn't matter. You're trying to stop me, therefore you die. I'm planning an attack today. Will you be there?_

Oh. Is Loki actually wondering if he's going to be there? Does Loki want to see him again?

Oh fuck.

**_Sure. I mean, of course I'll be there. I've got to keep you from taking Earth. It's a tough job, but I get the work done._**

_You do, don't you? I'll see you at the fight Tony xx_

Tony squeals at the virtual kisses he gets from Loki. He can't believe it. Loki actually wants to see him again. Him! Not Thor or Steve or Clint. Not Natasha or Bruce. Loki wants to see Tony Stark again.

What should he wear?

In the end, Tony spends three hours fretting over the Iron Man suit he's going to wear during the fight. He wants to make an impression on Loki. He wants Loki to compliment him on his awesome suit.

But then, he starts wondering about his etiquette. Will he even be able to speak to the god without blushing? He can barely look at him without going googly eyed, and now that he has his sexy black armor, he's so tantalizing and distracting and-

Oh no.

_No. No. **No.**_

Tony is not going to ditch a battle because of the inability to keep a straight face. Loki expects to see him there so Tony will be at that fight!

The playboy proceeds to boldly step into his gold and black Iron Man suit, feeling right at home inside his armor. Now, this is what he's been missing. Some quality Iron Man time.

Tony warms up and practices his kicks and punches, a little rusty from a week of no battles. Still, he's got his moves and he'll be ready to face off anyone involved in any battles anytime soon.

"Tony, Loki's causing chaos in lower Manhattan. We need all the Avengers to assemble."

"Battle? With Loki?" Tony whimpers, turning around to face a frantic Captain America in his doorway.

"Yes! He's doing lots of damage. Hawkeye and Thor are on the god right now, but it seems as if you're the only one who can stop him."

"You smart bastard!" Iron Man exclaims, growling. "I can't go. I can't."

"What? Why can't you go? What did he do to you?" Captain walks up to Iron Man.

"He did nothing, believe me Steve! I just can't go."

He can't believe it. Tony is damn near shaking in his armor, his heart is beating a million miles a minute and he's pretty sure his arc reactor is gonna explode if he doesn't get himself in control.

He can't see Loki! Not like this! His hair is messy, and his armor isn't perfect! He needs to look good for Loki. Tony needs to impress Loki to get his attention. To get Loki to like Tony back.

Like Tony back.

Like Tony.

Tony likes...

Oh _fuck_.

Tony shuts down his Iron Man suit and ignores the cries from Captain America, who's demanding for Tony to get moving, but he can't. He just can't.

This whole time.

_It was true._

Tony has a crush on Loki.

He actively likes Loki as more than a friend. He sees Loki as more than his friend. It's impossible for them to just be friends in his mind.

"Stark! Are you okay?" Steve grabs the cool metal arm with a sigh. "You don't have to come if you feel sick."

"I like him, Steve."

"Like who?"

"Loki. I truly really like him." Tony's voice is soft and wavering. He still can't believe it himself. "I crossed denial."

"You. You _fancy_ Loki?" Tony responds with an affirmative. "Oh my. Oh my heavens, you've fallen for Loki. That's why you ran away, why you had to cross the Nile, why you...oh Tony. I though it was fake. I..._oh_."

And even though Tony's not going to hug back, Steve hugs the cold metal armor and squeezes it as tight as he can (without damaging the suit of course).

"It'll be ok, Tony. It's just a crush. Once you see how evil he is again, your crush will be yesterday's news."

"I hope so."

No, he doesn't. Tony truly doesn't because for the first time since his messy breakup with Pepper a few months back, Tony finally feels happy. He feels warmth inside himself thinking about Loki and he likes it, yearns for it.

Tony likes Loki as more than a friend.

And he doesn't mind.

* * *

A/N: Yay! Tony submitted to his crush! Now what is he gonna do about it? ;)

Reviews are welcome.

Toodles,

-loveforlater ❤


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: double update since I felt the chapter before wasn't too good xD

Here's Chapter 5! One more chapter until my favorite chapter!

* * *

Chapter 5: Awkward Fight

* * *

_It is a pity you did not make it last morrow. You have most likely heard that I designed my attack just for you. Next time, Stark._

Of course.

Tony tosses his phone onto his bed, plopping down right next to it. It's been a week since Loki sent that text and eight days since he accepted his infatuation.

He hasn't come out of his room during that time thanks to Steve, who's been keeping people away from him because he really doesn't want to talk to anyone right now.

Steve will probably have the best reaction out of all the Avengers, and even then, Steve was demanding answers and reasons that Tony couldn't provide half the time. That's when Steve decided that no one should talk to Tony and thus starts the avoidance of everyone but the blonde superhero.

"Tony, you've got to come with us. There's been another video from Loki."

The sound of his name makes his cheeks flush, but Tony doesn't give in. He will go down with a fight!

"Really? Well, come back after the meeting and tell me what he said."

"Tony,"

"I'm not coming out, Clint."

"Are you that sick that you can't sit and watch a damn, sorry Steve, video with us?"

"Yes. Especially if it has Loki in it."

"What did that sick bastard, sorry Steve, do to you?"

"Nothing!" he made me fall for him. "He did nothing. I'm just in no mood to see his face." or any part of him. "Or any villains face. Leave me alone, Clint."

"Director Fury's pissed at you."

"When is he not?"

"He said for you to get off your lazy ass and stop acting like a schoolgirl who has a crush but doesn't want to see him."

And that hits way too close to home base. Actually, Clint (and Fury) hit a home run. Tony yanks open his door, pretty sure he looks like a mad man, and stares directly at Clint, ignoring Bruce (who's confused) and Steve (who's scared) beside him.

"Well, take your fucking ass back to Fury and tell him that I try my best, but a fucking crush doesn't go away in just a day, asshole!"

"Well, you still don't have to act weird and try to ignore her!" Clint says, completely missing what Tony said. Bruce picks up on it though and locks eyes with Steve, who nods in response.

"I have to ignore him because I don't want to feel this way! I don't want to smile like a crazy person just because he looks at me! I don't want to feel like carbonated soda just because he says my name!" Tony rants, pointing an accusing finger at Clint. "I'm not saying I don't like these feelings because I do, but I don't like that it's him who's causing them!"

"Then suck it up and stop acting like a whiny girl and come to the fucking meeting!"

"I am not acting like a whiny girl, Barton! It's not like you're the one who's falling for Loki!"

"I'm not! So, who is?"

Bruce butts in at that time, shoving a raging Tony into his room, Steve going in after him.

"Clint, shut up." Bruce hisses as Steve tries to calm down Tony. "Tony just found out he has a crush on Loki. You can't aggravate him like that."

"Wait, what? He likes Loki? I thought we were talking about Pepper." Clint says, confused. "Oh shit. I probably pissed him off."

"He's surprisingly defensive about protecting his feelings. I would've expected him to be more defensive about having them in the first place."

"Maybe that's what Steve's been doing. You know, helping Tony out with the whole crush-on-Loki thing." Clint sighs. "C'mon, Bruce. We'll just tell Fury Tony isn't coming."

The two start walking away just in time for Tony to open up his door.

"I'm sorry, you guys. I didn't mean to flip out on you." Tony chuckles a little. "I won't come to the meeting, but I'll go to the next battle we have for sure, no matter what."

"That's great, Tony. Can't wait to see you there."

Tony smiles and watches the two walk off before he goes back to his room where Steve is sitting on his bed.

"So, are you going to ask Loki about another attack?"

"I don't know. I sort of want a surprise from him." Tony ignores the heating of his cheeks as he grabs his phone, sitting beside the blonde. The device rings in his hands and the familiar number of Loki appears on screen.

"He's calling?" Tony exclaims, his voice rising at the end of his sentence. "Should I answer?"

"Sure, I guess."

Tony answers the phone.

"Hello?" In response, he gets a handful of Norse curses. Or what sounds like them. "Loki?"

"This is not him."

"_You certainly know how to-_" someone else murmurs.

"Wait, Loki? Was that you?"

"Your friend-"

"We're not friends."

"-is in the midst of something."

"What!" Tony jumps out of his seat. "Is he being killed? Attacked? Is he injured? Bleeding? Bruised?"

"You certainly wonder a lot about his condition if he's not your friend."

"_Stark, get your ass over here!_"

Wow. He's never heard Loki cuss before. And damn, does it sound hot.

"I'll be there before you can say your own name."

"_Loki. How come you're not here yet?_"

"It's figurative, idiot."

Tony tosses the phone to Steve before he gets suited up.

"Tony? What in the world are you doing?"

"Saving my princess' ass."

* * *

Tony arrives at the location fairly easily, given that the building's on fire and huge creatures are crushing everything in view. Shouldn't be too hard to guess that might be where Loki is.

"Man of Iron! You are here! Hawkeye told me not to ask you to come; he said you were sick."

"Well, I feel better now, Thor." Iron Man smiles before he flies down to the building and blasts his way in, using Jarvis to detect huge flows of magic. "Loki, where are you?"

"Now, all I have to do is take away the rest of your magic and-"

Tony sends a blast of light toward the sound, hearing someone shriek. He turns to find a slumped over Loki tied to a chair and connected to a bunch of devices. The god looks unconscious and seriously injured.

"How dare you interrupt my work?" a girl screeches, her hair wild like her eyes. Orange magic swirls around her, making her look even crazier.

"Um, guys." Tony murmurs over the intercom. "We've got a crazy witch here."

"Amora?" Thor exclaims.

"You know her?"

"Yes! I do. She has a bit of a liking for me."

"She likes you? Then why don't you get you blonde ass over here and flirt until she lets go of your brother!"

"She has Loki?"

Tony rolls his eyes and dodges a spell, running over to Loki as Thor rushes in.

"Loki, can you hear me?" Tony asks, placing a cool hand on the villains cheek. He releases his visor. "Loki?"

"Stark?" the god whispers, lifting his head slightly.

"Oh gods, you're ok." Tony murmurs, wrapping his arms around Loki. The god blinks a couple times and doesn't respond. "C'mon, let's get you out of here."

"Stark, you're hugging me. Get off."

Tony pulls away from Loki as if he was on fire, ignoring the heat of his cheeks.

"Sorry there. Amora freaked me out with the phone call."

"It was intended for my brother, but I'm guessing she called the wrong number." Loki murmurs, using what little magic he has left to heal minor wounds. "I don't know why you would come and save me though."

"You asked for it." Tony disconnects Loki from the magic draining devices.

"Hmm, thanks." Loki stands and stretches and oh god, Tony can not get his eyes off of the god's toned body, _holy shit, he's staring_. "Stark? What is wrong? Is there another cut? I thought I had healed them all..."

"No, there's not another cut." Tony murmurs, hoping Loki doesn't see him blushing (he's been doing that a lot near the god). "Um, so you'll be ok?"

"Of course." Loki gives him a small genuine smile that sets Tony's heart (or arc reactor, picky details) on fire. "Thank you for the company, but I must get goin-"

"Wait!" Tony blurts for no odd reason whatsoever. "Um, wait? What was I going to say?"

"Tony, you've been acting all weird. What is going on? Amora cast a spell on you, didn't she?" Loki rolls his eyes, walking toward the other man. "Come here, I'll try to-"

"No! I can't." Tony steps back. He really wants to be close to Loki again, but he might kiss him or something.

Loki gives Tony a look.

This is getting awkward.

"Well then." Loki clears his throat and disappears in a puff of green magic. Tony lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"That was close." Tony sighs and blasts into the air. He wouldn't know what to do if he'd actually done something to Loki.

* * *

A/N: Alrighty then! That's Chapter 5. Up next, Thor POV (now you know why it's my favorite chapter :3)

Toodles,

-loveforlater ❤


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: My favorite chapter :D

Zomg, thanks for the reviews! I didn't care much for chapter 4, but I'm glad you all liked it! This chapter is the longest chapter so far!

* * *

Chapter 6: Conversation with Thor Part 1

* * *

Thor watches the interaction between his brother and the Man of Iron and he finds it quite interesting. Very interesting. Man of Iron seems to be blushing every so often and looks conflicted as if he wants to touch his brother, but won't let himself do it.

Then when he looks at Loki, his eyes soften.

It was not the first time the blonde god has seen Stark's eyes go soft at the mention or sight of Loki. When the team watched the video, his eyes softened. When they talked about Loki, his eyes softened. When Loki gave Stark that sheet of paper, his eyes softened.

It doesn't make any sense!

Why does Man of Iron's eyes soften when he looks at or talks about Loki?

Thor knows that the only way he'll be able to find out is to ask. So, that's exactly what he's gonna do.

"Tony Stark, why do your eyes soften when they land on my dear brother?"

The man proceeds to spit out his alcohol, spraying both Thor and the table with the sour liquid.

"Excuse me Thor, did I hear you correctly?" he asks hoarsely, wiping his mouth as he turns to the god.

"Yes. Why do your eyes soften, Man of Iron?"

"Eyes soften?" Tony's eyes widen for a split second before he snorts and waves a hand, refilling his shot glass. "Thor, I have no idea what you are talking about. Why would my eyes soften when I look at Loki? I hate his guts."

"Then, may I ask another question?"

"No."

"Why did you hug my brother today? He is not one for physical affection. I am surprised he didn't hurt you for doing so."

"Yeah, I'm a little surprised about that, too." Tony chuckles. "The bastard even offered to remove a spell off me to make sure I was ok." Thor watches the other man sigh quietly before he drinks his liquor. "I don't get it. Why is he protecting Earth from other creatures and trying to save my life? What importance am I to him?"

"If Midgard ever falls prey to forces beyond our power, my brother would save you mostly for your high intelligence."

Thor smirks a little as he sees Tony's eyes reflect hurt before they narrow at his scotch bottle.

"Well, that's nice to know. Loki's just another guy who likes me for my intelligence."

"I did say mostly, Man of Iron. He would not choose any man to be his Midgard survivor. There are plenty of smart citizens on Midgard."

"Why me?"

"For your looks of course."

"My looks? Oh, so Loki's in for the money, the smarts and the looks? Does no one care about personality anymore?" Tony slams his empty cup on the wet table, turning from the blonde god. "I don't care if I die, I don't want to be his stupid survivor just because he thinks I look good!" Tony swivels in his seat and turns to face Thor. "Wait, did he actually say that? You know, mention that I look good or something?"

"It is common knowledge that you are very handsome, Stark. I am sure Loki sees that as well."

"Win." Tony grins happily and refills his cup. "Thanks for the talk. I needed it."

"I needed it as well, Man of Iron." Thor pats his friend's back before he walks off to his room, analyzing the conversation.

Why would Stark be happy that Loki thinks of him as a handsome Midgardian? To be honest, Thor has no idea who Loki would choose as his Midgardian survivor. He just wanted to get Tony to say something about his weird behavior toward Loki.

That he knows of, Thor believes that blushing and the softening of the eyes are actions taken by those who fancy someone. Of course though, Stark does not take a liking to Loki, not since he got defenestrated during the New York battle. And that comment about no one liking personality...that was surprising. Thor would not think of Stark of saying anything like that.

Anthony Stark is a rich jerk of a playboy. Why would personality matter to him? And on top of that, why would Stark want Loki to want him for his personality? It seems as if Loki having Stark is a sensitive matter for the Man of Iron.

Somehow, Thor needs to get Stark to accidentally speak of liking Loki as more than a friend. All the evidence he has points in that direction. Surprisingly so, Stark fancying Loki does not anger Thor as much as he thought. Loki only threw Stark out a window instead of killing him, so Thor's brother must have an interest in Stark, whether romantic or scientific.

Thor pouts. His head is hurting from thinking too much. Right now, he wants some tarts that pop. Those sugary treats Jane always tells him are supposed to be put in a Midgardian device called a toaster. 'They taste better without being cooked' tends to be his response to her.

Walking back into the kitchen (where Stark is still drinking), Thor proceeds to raid the cabinets until he finds what he's looking for.

"What do you mean?" Tony exclaims, slamming his cup onto the table. Thor looks up from his munching to find the man on his touch-the-screen cellular device, back facing the Asgardian god. "Are you crazy? Do you think I'm gonna tell him?"

Feeling a little too invasive, Thor grabs his Pop Tarts and starts to leave, but the sound of a stuttering Tony causes Thor to stop.

"W-W-What do you mean!" Tony exclaims. Thor sees the man's face turn bright red. Is Tony Stark..._blushing_? "I can't. No Steve. You don't know how hard it is. Yesterday's fight was hard enough." Thor raises an eyebrow. So the Captain and Stark are talking about Loki. "No. He's a god, Steve! I'll be blown up and killed for telling him that." Thor impulsively leans in toward the talking man. He can hear the Captain on the phone as well.

"Well, when you die you'll at least have it off your back." Steve says, voice loud and clear through the mic. Stark turns and so Thor ducks and hides, hoping no one can see his big bulky body under the counter.

"I don't want to die that way!" Thor peeks a little to find the mortal man turned away from him. Honestly, Thor shouldn't be listening in, but the two are talking about his brother. He must know what they are talking about! "Look Steve, I-"

"Don't "look Steve" me, Stark!" Thor raises his eyebrows at the Captain's stern voice. "You are in love-"

"No, it's not love, Steve. Get your facts straight. It's a crush! It'll go away soon enough. That's why I'm not gonna tell anyone else."

Thor raises an eyebrow. Does Stark have a "crush" on Loki? Thor shakes his head. No, the Man of Iron must be talking about Hela. Yes, the Captain is most likely telling Stark to tell Loki that he fancies Loki's daughter. But, Stark doesn't want to because Loki will probably hurt him really bad.

"Ok then. You have a crush on a god." Check. Hela is a god. "This god is dangerous." Check. Hela is dangerous. "Your enemy." Check? Hela does not seem like she would have Stark as an enemy, but Thor guesses that any relative of Loki's is an enemy of the Avengers. Except Thor because he's not evil. "I must admit, good looking."

"Oh? You feel the same way?" Tony teases the Captain, who stammers profusely. "I tease, Steve. Now, continue with your point."

"You need to tell him, Tony. This is eating you up inside and affecting battles against Loki." Thor nods. He noticed the odd behavior the other day. Stark must be extremely scared to tell Loki about his infatuation with the god's daughter.

"So, you want me to call him up?"

"Sure. You have his number. Call him for a chat and tell him then."

"I don't know why I ever ask you for advice."

"Because it tends to work. You crossed denial, didn't you?"

"Very funny, Rogers." the man puts his phone down and Thor slowly starts to get up, about to take his leave. "What the fuck am I supposed to say to the guy? 'Oh Loki! I forgot to tell you something the last time we met! I have a huge crush on you and I want to go out with you!' Ha, like that'll work! I'll end up down in Hell with Hela if I say that."

Thor jerks up so fast, he hits his head on the counter, causing the destruction of the furniture. Tony squeals horrifically as the god of thunder appears in his sight.

"How long have you been there!?" the man squeaks, eyes wide with fear. Thor can feel his blood boiling. Maybe the possibility of the Man of Iron and Loki together is not as good as originally thought.

"You. You, Tony Stark." Thor growls, the clouds in the sky turning gray.

"Please don't bring out your hammer. I can explain everything, just give me a chance!" Tony exclaims, raising his hands in the air for defense. "It wasn't supposed to happen! Your brother's just super hot and sexy and awesome and cool and I should probably shut up now, huh?"

Thor nods angrily as he calls on his hammer, grabbing the weapon with ferocity, causing the Man of Iron to squeal once more.

"THOR!" the god turns toward the cellphone, realizing that the Captain never hung up. "Don't kill Tony!"

"You encourage this crush?"

"I do, ok? There's nothing wrong with it!" Steve exclaims. "Nothing is going to happen between the two of them, ok? I just want Tony to tell Loki so he can get it off his back! Wouldn't you want to know if someone fancies you?"

Thor nods cautiously, still wielding his hammer.

"Ok now, um, everything's good, right?" Tony says, putting his hands down. "I'm sorry you had to hear about it this way, uh, I was going to tell you sooner or later."

"Preferably sooner." Thor hisses, eyes narrowed at the other man.

"Yes! Of course! Sooner for sure!" the mortal fidgets with his fingers. "Um, I'm going to leave now."

The man grabs his phone and runs down the hallway screaming for his life. Thor tenses up, ready to run after the man when Captain America appears and stops him.

"Don't go, Thor!" Steve calls. "Let yourself relax, ok? I know you're protective of your brother-"

"I do not want Tony Stark with Loki! Loki is a delicate flower and he easily gets his heart broken." Thor crosses his arms defiantly.

"No one said anything about them getting together." Steve puts a hand on the god's shoulder. "It's just a comment. I'm sure Tony will get over Loki in a flash. Just speak to Tony about it. Promise me that Thor."

Thor pouts pathetically, but nods.

"Fine. I will talk to the Man of Iron tomorrow. For now, I must rest. This new information about my brother is tiresome to think about." the Captain nods and watches Thor sulk to his bedroom.

Why Loki, Stark?

Why him?

* * *

A/N: OMG, this was _sooo_ fun to write! I hope it was just as fun to read!

next chapter: Saturday

Toodles,

-loveforlater ❤

EDIT: As of this moment, How To Tell Him has had 1001 views! Gah! I never expected so many people to read this! Thank you so very much! It is very much appreciated! You make me want to update right now! :D Keep reviewing! I read them all and love them all!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I couldn't any longer. I'm an impatient gal. xD Here's an update for all the lovely people out there who read my story! All 1000+ of you!

**Shreiking Beauty**: I couldn't wait either! And yes, Thor is hilarious!

**skydancer2ooo**: Yes, he's quite slow at times. Tends to look over things. But here's some more of him xD

* * *

Chapter 7: Conversation with Thor Part 2

* * *

Thor wakes up the next day with a fierce headache and rain and thunder outside. The events of the day before invade his mind and all the god wants to do is sit in bed and mope all day.

But, he made a promise to Steve Rogers that he would talk to Stark about the man's fancy for Loki, so he must get up.

Walking into the main room, Thor finds all the Avengers minus Stark sitting down drinking coffee, the billionaire's favorite drink. Thor just raises an eyebrow as he grabs a cup and sits beside Barton.

"What happened yesterday? Tasha and I heard something get destroyed and saw Tony running through the hall screaming about 'Thor don't kill me' or something." Barton nudges the god's shoulder, but the thunder outside responds, a couple flashes of lightning in agreement. "Was it that bad?" Thor nods and drinks his coffee.

"Where is the Man of Iron? I want to get this conversation done with as soon as possible." Thor grunts, putting down his cup as he turns to the Captain. Barton and Banner raise their eyebrows.

"He's in his lab. Won't let anyone in or out." Steve shrugs. "I wouldn't recommend barging in. He'll be very disagreeable with you the whole talk."

"Did Thor find out?" Banner asks, looking between the grumpy Thor and Steve. The mortal nods in response.

"I did not know that Stark had informed you of his...crush." Thor grumbles, crossing his arms. "I thought only the Captain knew."

"Clint knows as well. Actually everyone knows except Natasha." Steve comments. The red head simply raises an eyebrow as if expecting the knowledge to be spoken to her. "Tony has a huge crush on Loki." the ex-assassin snorts in response.

"No surprise there. Tony seems to like anything with an ass and an attitude." the woman puts down her cup with finality. "Fury wants to talk by the way. Someone go get Stark, preferably someone who's not Thor."

Steve leaves the room and so the others head down to the base where Fury is waiting for them.

"What's got you wanting us down here?" Stark asks, announcing his presence. The god of thunder and the mortal man lock eyes and Stark clears his throat. "Um, let's get this meeting done and over with."

"We've found footage of Loki. It seems as if he's been meeting with other gods to form an alliance." Fury taps a screen and a different screen pops up, one with a video. It's one of Hela and Loki talking. Loki turns one way and waves and then Stark comes on screen. "It seems as if someone's been keeping information from us."

"Hey!" Tony frowns. "He was talking with his daughter. I didn't see anything suspicious about that."

"Of course you didn't, not when you'll all head over heels for him." Fury snaps back as Tony blushes angrily. "After you left, Loki talked to two other gods. Seth the Egyptian god, and Prometheus the Greek god. These are all powerful and destructive gods. We couldn't catch any audio footage, but we do know that Loki has now associated himself with these gods."

Thor raises his eyebrows. He had no idea that his brother is associated with these gods, let alone knows of them. Why would Loki even form an alliance? Is he trying to attack Midgard again? Or keep it safe from those blue Jotunheim giants the Avengers saw in that other video? Then the question would be why would Loki keep Midgard safe? The god of mischief wouldn't team up to keep invaders away for personal gain.

That's not how Loki works.

There's other questions too, like why Loki is being so careless about his meetings. And why he wasn't told Thor about them. Odin said Loki is to inform Thor about every detail of his actions.

"Thor? Do you know why Loki would do this?"

"No, Director Fury. I have no idea what this means. My brother may be planning another invasion, or something else." Thor replies.

"Either way, we need to be on the look out." Fury crosses his arms. "Loki is once again our enemy. And apparently, other gods are as well. Keep your eyes open and ready for an attack."

The Avengers nod and proceeds to leave the base. Thor puts a hand on Tony's shoulder, causing the mortal man to tense up.

"Stark, I would like to apologize for my behavior yesterday. It was startling to say the least."

"It's cool, man." Tony chuckles forcefully. "I should've told you sooner."

"I want to talk to you about-"

"No can do Thor. I've got some work to do." Tony escapes Thor's grasp and rushes off to his lab.

"I think he's avoiding you." Barton comments with a shrug. "You seriously freaked him out yesterday."

"I did not mean to seem so rude to the Man of Iron." Thor sighs. "I shall ask later today if I see him again."

Thor stands in front of Stark's bedroom door for the whole day and doesn't see the man at all.

The next day Thor is still camped out in front of Stark's door. He goes downstairs to meet the others, only to find the tower vacant and his brother occupying a seat.

"Loki?"

The black haired god turns and smiles at the sight of his brother.

"Thor. I was waiting for you."

"What do you want?"

"I want to talk."

"You spoke with two different gods the other day."

"As a matter of fact I did. What of it, Thor?"

"Brother, what are you plotting? What are you trying to do?"

"I'm not trying to do anything, Thor." Loki puts a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I want to tell you to leave the Avengers out of my affairs. If they interfere, there will be a war between the Egyptian gods, the Greek gods and the Midgardians. And I will have nothing to do with it, understand?"

"War?"

"Yes, the gods said they don't want you fools to mess up their plans and I agreed to pass along the message. So, I'm forewarning you. The plans are not destructive at all, Thor."

"Why can't you tell the Avengers yourself, brother?"

"Do you think they would believe me?" Thor stays silent as Loki pulls away. "I will see you soon enough." The god leaves in a flash of green magic, leaving Thor a little confused.

Since thinking and confusion makes Thor hungry, the god finds some Pop Tarts and sits on the couch munching on them. Why would Loki help gods with a nondestructive plan? Is he finally turning good again? Thor's face lights up at the thought of his brother finally going down the path of redemption.

"Hey Thor!"

The god turns at the sound of his name, smiling as the Avengers walk through the door.

"Where did you guys go? I left the room of the Man of Iron and found no one but Lo-empty space here." Thor hopes no one picks up on his slip.

"Loki was here?" Tony exclaims, taking off his helmet. Of course Stark would notice the slip.

"Yes, he was." Thor stands. "He means no harm what so ever. The other gods have a plan and Loki agreed to inform us of it. There will be no harm to Midgard and there will be no harm to the Avengers if we do not intercede."

"How do you know he isn't tricking you?" Barton clutches onto his bow tighter.

"I'm still here and the building is not destroyed."

"He's telling the truth." Stark says, a tablet in his hands. "All Loki wanted was to ask Thor to inform us."

"Give me that; your sight of Loki is tainted because of your crush." Barton snatches the tablet from an angry Stark, replaying the security footage. "He's telling the truth."

"Give me that back; your sight of Loki is tainted from being his human zombie." Stark growls, clutching the device to his body. Thor smiles at the playful banter between the two grown men. "Thor, I am now mentally ready to talk to you about my crush on Loki."

Thor raises an eyebrow, but doesn't comment as he follows the man through the hallway.

"Man of Iron, I am truly and deeply sorry for my-"

"Thor, there is no need to apologize. Like I said, I should've told you sooner." Stark sighs. "I just, I really like him, ok? He offered to save my life, to take a spell off me. No one's ever done that before. Offer to save my life that is." Stark's voice drops. "Yeah, I'm physically attracted to him, but I can tell he's changing. Or something. Maybe it's just me. I mean, he makes me feel warm inside and shit, why am I telling you this? I'm not a feelings guy."

"It is okay to let your feelings out, Man of Iron. I am glad I am not the only one who can see that my brother is changing."

"Cool. I'm glad I'm not alone." Stark grips onto his helmet. "So, um, you won't mind if I tell him, right? I have his number and everything; I think I might give him a call..."

"You have his number?" the god exclaims, eyes wide. Thor doesn't even have Loki's number and they're brothers!

"Yeah, gave it to me the day I came back from Egypt." Tony smiles. "So, is that a yes?"

Thor crosses his arms. Loki wouldn't ever give a mortal his number unless he wants to contact them or tease them or something. Actually, Thor doesn't, well, really never kept in touch with his brother much. Maybe it's a blessing from Asgard that Loki's opening up a bit for Stark.

"Yes, you may, Stark. Tell him about your crush."

"And if he responds back with a positive answer like 'oh, I like you too', we can, you know, go out, right?" Stark looks at the ground sheepishly, his face bright red.

"You and Loki go out?"

"Court. I can court Loki."

"Captain America told me that you would not associate with Loki in that manner!"

"Only if Loki somehow miraculously likes me back! If not, then I'll just get over my crush. It'll take a while but-"

"Stark, I want you to tell him." the man looks up at the god. "I want you tell Loki because he believes no one loves him. He needs to know that at least one person cares for him besides me."

"Ok. Ok. I'll do it. I'll do it for him."

"Thank you, Stark. But if you hurt him-"

"I get it. You'll kill me with your big hammer." Stark laughs. "I won't hurt him, trust me. Everything will be ok."

Thor smiles and takes Stark into a hug, squeezing the other man tightly.

"I am sure my brother will appreciate this." Thor says tightly, closing his eyes.

"I'm sure he will."

As the superhero walks away, Thor slumps with a frown. Honestly, he doesn't know how Loki will take this. It might interfere with some inner workings. Only time will tell.

* * *

A/N: Inner workings? :D

Next update: Saturday for real this time

-loveforlater ❤


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Chapter 8 update for hitting 1000+ hits on the AO3! Yay, I thank all of you so much for the views and comments. You're making me cry tears of joy here!

Alone has been posted! Check it out!

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Chapter 8: Chicken Shit

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Tony leaves Thor with a big bounce in his step. He just got permission to call Loki and tell him about his crush! Why is he so excited about this? Don't really care!

All he hopes is that Loki doesn't flip out or act weird near him. He'll have to inform Loki that the crush will be gone in a little while. Loki won't have to act any different toward him.

Then, should Tony tell him at all?

The billionaire falters in his steps.

He got permission from Thor! Of course he can tell the god about the crush! Loki needs someone else to care for him and Tony is the perfect person to do so.

Walking into his room, Tony dials Loki's number and puts the phone to his ear. The dial tone starts ringing and Tony starts imagining what Loki's responses might be.

The god might be disgusted. He might be pleased. He might be excited or angry or happy or sad or the information might make leave and go back to Asgard. Loki might come over to the tower and kiss Tony with a proclamation of his own feelings. Or come to the tower and kill Tony. Tony shudders when that thought crosses his mind.

"Hello? Stark, is this you?"

"I have a crush on you!"

Tony ends the call and tosses the phone onto his bed staring at the device.

What. The. Fuck. Was. That.

He just hung up on the god of mischief. The god of lies! The trickster of all tricksters! Oh, Loki and Thor are going to kill him!

"What was that, Tony?"

Turning quickly, Tony comes face to face with a frazzled Loki who's hair is in a messy (sexy) ponytail. His green shirt is ridding up his chest and his black jeans with a gold belt are snug on his hips and tight on his legs. Loki should be deemed the Asgardian god of sexy.

"I called you." Tony says dumbly.

"Yes, something about you wanting to crush me?"

Tony holds back some giggles at Loki's confusion. Should he tell the god what he really meant?

Nah. It'll be funny for Loki to be confused.

"Yeah. I want to crush you." Tony fidgets with his fingers.

"By all nine realms, why would you call me to tell me you want to crush me?" Loki puts a hand on his hip and Tony almost drools at how sexy the god looks.

"Because I want you to know that someone wants to crush you." Loki raises an unamused eyebrow. "Sit down, I need to explain this to you." The god sits beside Tony. "When someone says they want to crush you, it means they care about you a lot."

"Is that a Midgardian saying?"

"Sure, uh, yeah! It is. Lots of girls say that to guys they care about." Tony clears his throat. "I didn't mean to hang up on you; Thor startled me with his thumping downstairs and my finger slipped."

"Lying to the god of lies. Doesn't work, Stark." Loki smirks and leans back onto the bed, his shirt exposing more of that pale white skin. Tony almost reaches toward it to touch the smooth skin, but he stops himself in time. "You hung up on purpose." The god's face plummets. "Thor most likely called instead of you to let me know he cares about me. That fool doesn't understand that love isn't what I do."

Part of Tony's heart breaks.

"Thor really cares for you. And I care for you as well, but in more of a crush you sort of way."

"What is the difference between having this feeling of crushing someone-let's call it a crush for short-and just caring for them?"

Tony's face turns bright red. Thank god his back is facing Loki.

"A crush is more personal and tends to be told to people who you like."

Why is Tony avoiding just saying that he's head over heels for the god?

"You like me?" Loki sits up quickly and Tony nods, face burning bright red. "Your face is on fire, Stark." The god puts a hand on Tony's cheek and the man unconsciously leans in toward the hand.

"Loki, I have something to confess." Tony murmurs quietly, locking eyes with the curious god. Who seems to be mumbling something under his breath. Green magic starts to come out of Loki's hands. "Wait. What are you doing."

"I'm healing you, idiot." Loki sighs. "You seem to have a high fever that's causing you to ramble and say things you don't mean."

"Nnngh, it's not a fever." Tony pulls Loki's hand away and holds it to his chest with both hands. "Now listen here. I'm about to tell you some earth-shattering news. Do not, seriously Lokes, do not flip out."

"Flip out?"

"Just don't get mad, ok?"

Loki tenses up and pulls away, glaring at Tony with his vibrant green eyes.

"You're helping Thor to try to get me to join the Avengers! Or get down the road of redemption, aren't you?" the god hisses.

"Uh, no." Tony says, scooting closer to the angry god. Said god stands up and backs toward the door. "Loki, what is it?"

"I don't want to hear you try to fool me with your words or Midgardian phrases." Loki snarls. "All you're trying to do is get me to confess a secret that I don't have!"

"I'm not trying to get you to confess anything!" Tony stands as well. "I'm trying to tell you something!"

"Well then, speak up, Stark! I'm sure nothing you can say will make me angrier than when I found out what I really am!"

"What?"

"Oh, you don't know already?" Loki laughs manically, making Tony a little worried (and a little turned on). "Thor hasn't told you of the family secret?"

"Oh what, that you're adopted? Everyone knows that already." Tony waves in a passing manner. "Thor likes to throw that around whenever he can."

"Really?" Loki starts cackling and now Tony's getting a little worried. "Of course the blonde oaf would love to tell you idiots about how he's not related to a crazy maniac of a god!"

"You're not crazy, Loki. You were just confused. I know I would be very much upset if I went centuries thinking my family was my birth family when they really weren't."

To be honest, Tony's a little intrigued. He never heard Loki's side of the story and this'll be his chance.

"Oh yes, that gives me so much comfort. Tony Stark, the famous man of Midgard, would feel the same way I did if he was in my predicament." Loki turns to Tony with crazed eyes. "They would call you crazy too."

"Yeah, lots of people would call me crazy, but you're not the only one with daddy issues here! My dad was a fucking bastard for your information!" What is he doing, telling Loki about his darkest secrets? Does he really trust the god this much? Or is it a fit of rage? "He didn't give a damn about what I did! At least your dad cared."

"He cared until it really mattered!" Loki yells back, fists clenched with angry green magic flitting around his body. Is Loki's ponytail swinging?

"Oh so what, when it came to the decision of who would be King of Asgard, Odin dissed you or something?"

"It's not the fact that he did so, it's the reason why!" Loki takes a deep breath. "This was a bad idea."

"No it wasn't. I think we're actually bonding here. I'm still sort of surprised why I'm still alive right now." Loki actually chuckles here. "Seriously though, why aren't I dead."

Loki coughs into his hand and turns away. Was he blushing?

"Hmm, let's just say you interest me and with the knowledge I have in mind, I need you for something."

"I'm a commodity?"

"A precious one. Believe me, it's better you're in my hands than someone else's." Loki turns back to Tony with a frown.

"I'm yours?" Tony's pretty sure his face is lighting up.

"Yes, Stark." Loki sighs and all the green magic seeps back into his body. "I must be on my way out-"

"Do you care about me? I mean, if I'm your property-"

"Don't put it that way. You are not my property, Stark."

"Really? Ok then, since I'm your _commodity_, or _precious possession_, why haven't you taken me away from the tower and locked me up somewhere?"

"Number one, Stark. You are not my slave." Loki bites back and wait, are those tears in his eyes? "You will never be my slave, so I won't ever treat you as one. Number two: you aren't even supposed to know of this. Number three: I need you so you cannot be damaged goods. Number four: I care as well."

"You care for me?"

"Bloody fool, yes! Why would I offer to heal you and actually come here and talk to you? You don't see me doing that with Thor, do you?" the god hisses before turning away. "I can't treat you like a slave, hence the reason why it's better you're in my hands than someone else's."

The look on Loki's face makes him look so human. And honestly, it's nice to know that the god has a heart. Like Tony. And they care for each other. Not in the same way, but still. It's better than nothing for Tony.

"So, what's the big family secret?"

And Tony should've stopped while he was ahead.

"You never know when to shut your mouth, do you Stark?" Loki growls, turning on Tony with anger.

"No, it's not really my strong suit." _Oh god, what am I saying._ "I mean, I like to talk a lot, so I do it a lot. Talk that is. You know, you like to talk as well. You should talk more often is what I mean. I like your voice, it-Loki? Loki?"

Tony finally shuts his mouth and looks at Loki, who has a hand covering his mouth as tears fall from his eyes.

"Oh my god." Tony panics, rushing to the god's side. "What did I say? I take it back! Please, just don't cry." Tony wraps his arms around the god, but the god shoves him away.

"Do not fake it, Stark!" Loki yells, still sobbing. "You wouldn't like me if you knew what I really am, Stark."

"I like you no matter what you are! You can be a disguised Chitauri for all I care I'll still lo-" Tony breaks himself off as he realizes what he was about to say. Since when did love enter the equation? Tony grabs the crying god's hand. "What is it, Loki? You can tell me."

"Believe me when I say you don't want to know." Loki yanks away and wipes his eyes. "Goodbye, Stark."

"No! Don't leave me!" Tony squeaks as he watches Loki plummet to the ground. "Oh my gawd, stop doing this to me! Get up and stop sobbing like a baby! It's freaking me out here! You're gonna make me start crying too!"

"Get. Away." Loki spits uncharacteristically. Tony kneels down toward the god, who seems to be shivering. "I said, GET AWAY!"

Loki lashes out, a wave of green magic pushing away Tony. The man flies and lands against the wall, getting the air knocked out of his lungs. Standing up, Tony loses the breath in his lungs once more at the sight before him.

A blue Loki.

Not just any blue, a rich dark ocean blue with darker blue markings all over his body and face. Red eyes bore into Tony's and it takes all the willpower in the man's body not to run up to Loki and hug him or something.

"What are you?" Loki snorts in response.

"I'm a disgusting animal, Stark."

"No. You're not." Tony runs up to the god despite his mind telling him to back the fuck off. "It-it looks awesome." Loki raises an eyebrow. "Can I touch?"

"Touch? Why would you want to touch me? Do I not disgust you, Stark?" Loki's voice gets really quiet.

"No! You don't disgust me at all." Tony grabs Loki's hand and shivers at how cold the god is. "What are you? Loki, tell me the truth."

"A frost giant."

"Giant?"

"I'm a runt. A Jotunheim frost giant runt." Loki sighs pathetically and puts a hand in Tony's face. "Don't look at me."

"I want to look at you, ok? You don't disgust me. You actually look really hot." Tony hides his blush as Loki scoffs.

"This is the reason why."

"Why what? I'm not too good with recalling events of conversations when in the presences of such a beautiful man."

Tony grins wildly as Loki blushes with a scowl.

"The reason why Odin didn't want me as king. Why would he have such a monster like me rule over his golden land?" Loki pulls away, crossing his arms. "Don't you dare-"

"Tell anyone? I promise I won't." Tony traces Loki's patterns, causing the god to flinch. "I won't hurt you. I'm admiring you."

"Why?"

"Because I care, ok? And you need to know that someone cares for you besides your brother." Loki rolls his eyes.

"Thor wouldn't care for me if he saw what I truly look like, Stark."

Uh oh. The big god is getting angry again.

"Of course he woul-"

"No he wouldn't!" Loki lashes out once more. "I am a monster, Stark! I killed my own father! I am wanted nowhere! Not in Asgard, not in Jotunheim, not in Midgard!"

"I want you!" Tony cries out. _Oh my god, please don't tell me I'm crying._ "I care for you and I will continue even when no one else does because I'm i-"

"Stop lying to yourself, Stark."

In a flash of green, Loki disappears, leaving Tony as an emotional sobbing mess.

"Because I'm in love with you, Loki!" Tony sobs, collapsing onto his bed. "Why don't you get that?"

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A/N: Did Tony just say he loves Loki? Or was that a slip of the tongue?

I almost cried writing this. And I don't cry easily when reading or writing something.

next update: Saturday. Or if I get 5000 hits/reviews xD which ever comes first.

EDIT: I'm extremely busy on Saturday, so this will actually be updated on Friday! One day early!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thanks for all the reveiws! Keep them coming! BTW, How To Tell Him is 24 chapters long. It contains two story arcs: From Chapter 1 to 16 and then Chapter 16 to 24. There will be a sequel to this called Need You. Hope you stick around for the stories! Thanks!

-loveforlater ❤

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Chapter 9: Something More?

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Tony walks down the stairs from his room to the bar in the main room of the tower. Sniffling with red eyes and a tear stained face, the man doesn't notice the Avengers staring at him from the couch. Bending down, Tony opens up his cabinets and starts searching for some vodka. Or maybe some bourbon. Either way, he needs some strong alcohol because his head and his heart hurts. And they hurt bad.

Wiping his nose on his sleeve with a sniffle, the billionaire stands up and turns to his counter, placing the glass of alcohol on the surface before he bends down for a shot glass or two. Placing them on the counter, he hangs his head and chokes back a sob by covering his mouth as he cries once more.

Tony doesn't know why he's being so emotional right now. He guesses it's because he finally told Loki, but it doesn't feel like he's gotten anything off his back. All Tony knows is that Loki hates himself and that Tony himself is some prize that Loki is keeping safe from the hands of others because the green-eyed god actually cares for Tony.

Looking up, Tony drops a glass on the ground, the sound of it shattering echoes in the silence.

"You know," Natasha starts, looking down at her nails with disinterest, "Loki does look pretty hot in blue."

"What?" Tony mumbles, distracted as he cleans up his mess.

"You made my poor delicate brother cry, Man of Iron." Thor rumbles. Tony tosses broken glass into a trash can and frowns as he grabs a new one. "You have made Loki a poor delicate pansy now."

"Hulk laugh." Bruce tags on, causing everyone to start giggling and laughing.

"Hey! I'm in pain right now! My heart hurts and all you're doing about it is laughing at me!" Tony complains as he pours himself a shot of vodka, downing the cup in one gulp. "You don't know what this feels like. I feel like I can't breath or something."

"Well, we won't know what you feel like because we won't fall for an angry Norse god." Steve comments crossing his arms. Tony sends the soldier a dark glare as he drinks another cup of the sour liquid.

Reaching across the counter, Clint pushes Tony's shot glass away and grabs Tony's hands, startling the man.

"Tony my dear friend, you are no longer a man." Clint says solemnly.

Now that seems to wake Tony up.

"Wait, what?" Tony sits up properly and shakes his head. "You saw all of that?"

"Yes, we all did."

Tony turns and watches a smirking Nick Fury walk toward the group.

"Oh no." Tony grumbles, slouching again. "No, no, no. What do you want Fury? I'm in no mood for your silly squabbles."

"My silly squabbles? The fuck is wrong with you, Stark. As Captain here commented, we aren't the ones who fell in love with an angry Norse god." Fury snarls as he stands beside the Avengers. "I only have one question. Do you know anything about what Loki said about you being a commodity?"

"Nope." Another shot goes down Tony's throat. "I have no idea what he was talking about." Tony drinks from the bottle this time. He pauses and points a finger at Fury. "And I don't love him."

"Tony, you almost told that to Loki twice." Bruce sighs. "It was sort of obvious."

"It was sort of a slip of the tongue." Tony bites back, bitter with the consumption of the inebriating solution. "Just leave me alone. I want to be all sad and depressed on my own without you people hovering over me, trying to analyze my feelings."

Natasha shrugs and walks off, Clint and Fury behind her. Thor opens his mouth to say something, but then shakes his head and follows the SHIELD agents.

"Tony," Steve walks to stand beside the depressed man. "I'm sorry for invading your personal privacy by watching your conversation with Loki, but I'm not sorry for what I said. You really need to get over yourself. He hates himself, but at least he cares for you enough to keep you safe from other people. And isn't that what counts?"

"No, because that's not what I'm crying about." Tony groans, putting his head on the counter. "He hates himself and thinks of himself as a disgusting creature. Why can't he see himself the way I do?" Tony pulls up from the marble counter. "It just annoys and saddens me. I really want him to know that I like him."

"Isn't that what you told him?"

"Yes, but he thinks it's platonic. Believe me, if that guy hates himself as much as he told me today, any declaration of my romantic liking of him will kill him inside. Or make him kill me. And look: Woohoo, I'm not dead."

"You gotta tell him." Bruce enters the conversation. "He'll probably be upset at first, but I have an inkling that he might like you romantically as well." Tony snorts. "You may not believe me, but I think he feels the same way for you for whatever reason possible. Either way, tell him. He needs to know that someone loves him."

"I don't love him, Bruce."

"Yes you do! My goodness, Tony, what is it with you and denial? Do you need to go back to Egypt?" Steve says angrily.

"Sure! I'd gladly go to get your asses off my back."

So, two days later, Tony finds himself back in Egypt sitting on the bridge he made a week or so ago. That same bridge that helped himself come to the conclusion that he likes Loki.

"Ah, a nice free sunny day where I don't have to worry about a thing."

Until the man hears an explosion that sends the ground shaking. Tony looks around to find men, women and children running away in the direction he's facing. Looking up, Tony spots a familiar shape in the sky. Damn it, it's Loki. In Egypt.

Why world, why?

Groaning, the billionaire gets off his bridge and slowly walks into the crowd of screaming people, ignoring everyone that bumps into him. Tony's too tired and annoyed to even care at this point. Too busy moping about how the man he really likes is a self-abhorring angry Norse god. When did his love life get so complicated?

"Damn it!" Tony exclaims, ducking under a table as a car goes flying by. Looking around, he spots an angry Loki in his new black armor, beautiful green magic surrounds the god giving him a mystic glow. Oh god, Tony's heart is in his throat just looking at the god. A frown crosses his face as he remembers their conversation from a couple days back.

"I told you to back off!" Loki hisses, clenching onto his scepter tightly. Tony watches with rapid interest. "If I tell the Avengers to back off then I don't have to deal with you! I told them to back off! You don't see any of them here, do you?"

Shit. Hopefully that god Loki's talking to doesn't see Tony or else Loki will kill him. And the other god will join in for kicks.

"The one with the glowing heart."

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

"Tony? What about him?" Loki visibly calms down, yet his magic still swirls chaotically around him. "He's not here; he's in New York."

Loki suddenly turns to the table Tony is currently hiding under and Tony begs to all the gods that Loki doesn't rat him out because the god's still angry at him or something. The god's eyes widen and then narrow dangerously. Oh god, Tony's gonna die today isn't he?

"Imposter." Loki murmurs, still staring at Tony. The god suddenly looks away. Oh thank The Lord above for having Loki as a friend. Tony's pretty sure he's fallen for Loki all over again just for sparing his life. "Stark is famous here on Midgard. There are quite a few people who try to look like him. Do not worry, Anubis, I can recognize all the Avengers immediately."

Anubis? The Egyptian god of death?

"You have come in handy with this plan, Loki. I am sure Odin will be pleased by your actions."

Loki tenses at the sound of his father's name.

"I am sure he will. What is the next phase?"

"First off, the Jotunheim giants are looking for you. They want to take you back to be their King."

"But I killed-"

"Yes, but you are now the only true heir and while they hate your guts, they still want you as the King."

"What does this have to do with the next phase?"

"Accept the offer, Loki."

"That is not according to plan!"

"Once you accept, you can resign and never be asked again. With the giants gone and out of your way, we can focus on the other aliens."

"Ok then. I'll be sure to do that, Anubis. When I accept, you must promise me not to take the mortal, do you understand? You promised me to leave him alone and I promised to keep him out. Now, I promise to become King and you promise not to touch him."

"I understand, but what about the Greeks? They want the man now."

"He is not ready. He may never be ready."

Wait, are they talking about Tony or someone else?

"Then why is he still under your protection?"

"So the Greeks don't use him and kill him. You and I both know they will do so."

Anubis finally appears in sight wearing golden armor, black clothes, black dog ears and a dog tail. He has a slight frown on his face as he talks to Loki.

"Too true. Fine then. Once you've gotten rid of your pesky race, then your involvement with the plan simply lies with keeping the mortal safe and the Avengers out of it."

What is so important about Tony that makes him have to be protected? And by Loki of all people!

Loki nods and Anubis leaves in a puff of black magic. Loki turns to Tony and starts walking toward him. Tony jumps out from under the table and runs to the god.

"Oh my god, you saved my life!" Tony squeals, hugging the god to find that Loki is back to normal and armor-less. "I don't know how I can thank you."

"You need to leave." Loki pulls Tony away. "I can only keep you protected for so long."

"Protected from what?"

"The gods. They want to sacrifice you."

"What? My pretty face?" Tony gasps.

"Yes, your pretty face, Stark." Loki rolls his eyes. "You're too smart for their own good. If the Avengers hear of this then they will attack to keep you safe. That is why you must not interfere."

"Why am I too smart for their own good?"

"Prophecies and shit like that." Loki says quietly, lost in a memory. "Nonetheless, I cannot protect you from the gods while in Jotunheim, but you can not attack them or you and your friends will be killed."

"Got it. What about the aliens?"

"It is nothing. Do not come back here, do you understand? You will be captured and then die."

"Ok."

"And do not go to Greece either. They will certainly murder you there."

"Ok, I understand. Thanks for the heads up."

"Of course. It is the least I could do."

"What's the most?"

"Take you with me."

The green-eyed god smirks and disappears in a puff of green magic, leaving Tony somewhat giddy and confused.

At least now he know a little bit more about the whole "Tony Stark is a commodity" thing.

* * *

"So, we shouldn't be seeing Loki in a little while. Meanwhile, the gods are trying to kill me, so I need protection."

"This whole time, when Loki fought off those aliens and had those fights, he was protecting you?" Clint asks, bewildered. "Lucky. You have a guardian angel."

"My brother must care for you a lot if he's willing to protect you from death." Thor smiles.

"Nah, I think he just doesn't want us killed attacking the gods."

"You are his to protect. He would've failed the gods if you die."

"Oh. So that's why he offered to heal me so many times." Tony nods and then smiles. "He is the sweetest valentine ever."

"It's not Valentine's da-"

"Shh. Shh, shh, shh." Tony hums. "Let me have my moment."

"_FUCK YOU!_"

Everyone in the building turns to the window to find burning buildings and fires strewn all over the place, mixed with screaming citizens and flaming cars.

"Oh no, not again." Tony whines, running to his window. "Not again!"

"What's happening?" Steve runs to his friend, who looks back and forth out the window.

"It's Loki and Anubis. Apparently, Anubis seriously pissed off Loki because _damn_, Loki looks hot pissed off!" Tony clears his throat. "I mean, Loki is yelling. He's the one who yelled 'fuck you' earlier."

"Loki curses?"

"Under extreme circumstances." Thor responds, standing beside the two at the window. "I wonder what he is so angry about." Tony doesn't miss the look Natasha and Thor share.

Thunder rumbles in the sky and Tony looks up to see an angry god with a lightning bolt in his hands.

"Zeus is here." Tony comments before looking back to the fight between the god of death and the god of lies.

"I told you to lay off, bastard!" Loki yells, throwing a massive wave of magic toward Anubis, who gets blown back against a building. "Stark is mine!"

"Possessive much?" Tony grins foolishly, rocking back on his heels.

A bolt of lightning strikes Loki and the god plummets to the ground in a heap, a satisfied Zeus smirking in the clouds.

"You're a smart and sly god aren't you Loki?" Anubis cackles as he stands beside the crumpled Loki. "Figured out our lies and thwarted our plans."

Loki mumbles something that gets him a kick in the side from Anubis.

"Oh god, I need to help him." Tony backs away from the window, but Bruce and Clint stop him from going any further.

"No! Do you remember what Loki said? Fighting with the gods will get us all killed!"

"But Loki's getting his ass beat out there!"

"As much as I want to help my brother, Eye of the Hawk and Banner are correct. The gods are already angry at Loki. There is nothing we can do but watch and wait." Thor sighs.

Tony frowns, but looks back outside, a smile lighting his face as he spots Loki walking, limping a little, but still walking.

"You're just a jealous _bitch_, aren't you?" Loki hisses, pointing his scepter at Anubis. A bolt of magic knocks the dog-like Egyptian god to the ground. "I got Aphrodite to help me keep Stark safe. I got Hera and Horus to do the same."

"You betrayed me!"

"I never betrayed anyone! You all lied to me! Tried to trick me!" Loki lashes out with a cry, everything around him exploding. Buildings crumble to the ground and everything is on fire. "But, no! You can not trick the god of mischief. I knew why you wanted me gone. That's why I never left! I've been waiting for this day for a week now. Waiting for you assholes to come to the Stark tower so Tony will submit and give himself up to save his friends who won't fight because of what I told him."

Anubis snarls like a dog and Zeus prepares a lightning bolt.

"I know because that's exactly what I would've done." Loki growls. "Now, stay away. You may not kill the man for your perverse prophecies!"

"He needs to die." a different god says. This god is laced in gold jewelry and Egyptian clothing. "You know this Loki. If that bastard stays alive, the aliens will come. This is why we have intervened."

"Seth, I do not care. You can not kill the one being you have sent for me to protect!"

"We never wanted you to protect him! We wanted you to make him feel safe near you so we could use you to get to him!"

Damn. That's a good plan.

"Good thing I found out before it was too late."

Tony slowly sneaks away from the window and quietly runs to the stairs, quickly running up them.

"Jarvis, get my suit ready."

"Sir, it would be wise not to-"

"I don't give a damn!" Tony says, tears in his eyes. "The man I love is out there! I can't sit here and watch him die because he wants to protect me! He's not the one who's in love. I am."

"Since when did you start claiming you love the god? Just a week and a half ago you were telling us you didn't love him."

Tony turns to find a smirking Natasha on the staircase.

"Tasha. Don't tell them I'm leaving, ok? I just can't bare to see him get beat up and get so angry like that."

"So, all it took was Loki to get beat up for you to realize you love him."

"No. All it took was Loki to get beat up and make me wish I was in his place so he won't get hurt. That thought made me realize my feelings for him are stronger than I originally thought."

"Go get 'em." Natasha nods and Tony smiles widely before he runs up the other flights, gets to the balcony, and gets his suit on, turning the familiar metal on.

It's time to kick some god ass.

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A/N: And so the fighting begins! Reviews would be lovely! ;D


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I have no impulse control. You do not know how hard it was to keep myself from posting this chapter. I tried so hard, but the reviews you all gave me make me so happy and _damn it all to hell_, you deserve this. This is a chapter for _you_, not to continue the story, but for you. You deserve this for reading my story and reviewing it. My favorite chapter comes after this one. You all probably hate me for the irregular updates xD sorry. I'm rewriting chapters 12 and on, so I'll probably start doing regular weekend updates anyway. Thanks for all the reviews, all 23 of them xD it doesn't seem like much, but to me, it means a lot. I want to get up to at least 50 ;) so you know what that means lol.

wow, long A/N hmm? Sorry. I am such an awful updater. I tease you with when I'm gonna update and them I post long author notes. By the way, I'm doing prompts on Tumblr. Feel free to ask me to write one for you. I'll post it on Tumblr and the AO3 first, and then migrate it over here.

Shit, I am so sorry for the fake update D: it won't happen again, I promise

Ok. Finally. Here's the story:

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Chapter 10: Confrontation

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YOU'VE JUST BEEN LOKI'D ehehehehe

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Ok. I'm being serious now. Seriously, here is the story:

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Chapter Ten: Confrontation

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Flying down as fast as he can, Tony lands beside Loki, interrupting Loki, Anubis and Seth.

"Sorry I'm late, I-"

"I thought I told you to stay out of this!" Loki yells, glaring at Stark. "Get back in the tower!"

"Look, I would love to go back inside, but you're getting your ass kicked and as man who really cares for you, I don't like to see you get beat." Tony puts a metal hand on Loki's shoulder. The god grabs his hand and flips the mortal man, Tony landing on his back.

Lightning strikes right where Tony originally stood.

"Watch your back." Loki hisses. Tony frowns, but gets back on his feet. "Go inside. You're safer in there."

"So? It's boring watching you get all the action. I want some too!" Tony ducks a bolt of black magic, the dog god growling in response.

Loki snorts before he gets into a fighting stance, pushing Tony behind him.

"Anubis, you must see reason!" Loki calls, the other god rolling his eyes in response. "Killing Stark won't keep the aliens back. They will come regardless of this man's death."

"And how would you know this?" Seth hisses, holding a golden crook in his hands. The god starts to twirl it dangerously.

"I don't." Loki turns to Tony, who's currently rocking back on his heels, watching this conversation with interest.

"What's up, Reindeer Games?" Tony smiles cheerily, too distracted to notice Loki's putting a spell on him.

"Stupid pathetic mortal." Loki hisses. The god throws a kick at Tony's chest and the man coughs as he flies back into a building half a block away, bewildered.

"What was that!" Tony calls, but of course Loki won't respond. Why is he in love with this god? Tony never thought of himself to be one for a sadistic lover, but hey. He fell in love with Loki. Anything can happen.

Climbing out of the rubble of the building, Tony finds his metal suit to be extremely bulky and heavy as if made of lead. Each time he tries to takes a step, it doesn't work. Jarvis is down as well, so he's completely useless right now. The only thing he can do is climb out of his suit, but then he'll be killed immediately.

"Hades? Oh, you got the message did you not?" Loki (that bastard) calls from the abyss. "Where is your other brother?"

"Poseidon wants nothing to do with this."

"Is that true, Zeus? Are you so pathetic that you can not convince your brother to join a fight?" Loki laughs. "Oh! My brother is an idiot, yet he got me to agree to this stupid plan even though I want nothing to do with it!"

Wait. So, Loki didn't originally want to protect Tony and the only reason why he did it was because of Thor?

"Be prepared to die, Loki."

"It would be my pleasure. End my pitiful life."

"No! Don't do it!" Tony cries out, yet no one hears him. Damn, he's gonna have to get out of the suit now, isn't he?

Once out of his suit, Tony stretches his legs and starts sprinting toward Loki and the three other gods, distracting everyone.

_**Meanwhile, back at the tower:**_

"Wait, did Iron Man just land beside Loki?" Steve exclaims, turning to find and absent Tony. "Stark!"

"Let him be. If he wants to kill himself for the man he loves, let him do so." Natasha comments, turning to Thor.

"Oh like you would-" Steve starts, but looks from everyone stops the soldier from continuing.

"Loki knows what he is doing. As you Avengers have found out through a difficult way I must admit, Loki is very much dedicated to his job. He will keep the Man of Iron safe."

As if Loki heard Thor's comment and wants to negate everything Thor says, the god kicks Iron Man into a building.

"Ok, we are going out there." Steve growls under his breath. "Kicking him into a flaming building is not protecting Tony!"

"Loki's making sure Tony doesn't fight." Natasha hums with interest, watching Loki talk with the other gods. "I think he's making a deal."

Just then to ruin the moment, Tony comes running suitless, waving his arms around to get everyone's attention.

"What the fuck is he doing." Clint gapes, watching Tony put an hand on Loki's shoulder. The two start talking and the other gods just watch a bit confused. Like usual, the talking doesn't last long and Loki starts yelling. Tony starts yelling in response and then Loki freezes and Tony yells something which makes Loki run away and disappear, fleeing the fight.

"What did Tony do?" Natasha exclaims, her hands on the window. "Loki was the only thing keeping him alive."

The gods start attacking Tony, but their weapons and magic cause no damage what so ever. Tony smirks and walks back to the tower with a whistle.

"Tony! I am very disappointed in you!" Steve reprimands as soon as the group sees Tony.

"_Stop_. I am in no mood for bullshit right now." Tony snaps with anger and a bit of hysterics underlines his voice. "I just...just, _no_."

"What happened?"

Tony raises an eyebrow and faces his friends from the doorway to the hallway. The superhero grudgingly walks to the group and sits on the couch, putting his face in his hands.

"Ok, so I left to go save Loki's ass. My appearance distracted the gods, but Lokes was having none of that, so he put a protection spell on me and kicked me into a building. Unfortunately, the spell caused my suit to freeze up." Tony looks up from his hands. "Meanwhile, Loki decided he had enough and wanted to die. I couldn't let him do that, so I ran out to stop him..." (flashback time!)

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"Are you nuts! You're my protector! You're supposed to keep me alive! You can't die now!" Tony said, grabbing Loki's shoulder to turn the god around.

"Oh, what does it mean to you?" Loki snapped, obviously angry. "I did my job, what else is there to do?"

"Oh, I don't know, stay alive?" Tony gritted his teeth. "Look, I don't know why I need to die to keep the aliens away. I don't know why me still being alive warrants a battle between you, Greek gods and Egyptian gods. I'm quite the confused little guy here, but I know one thing and that is that your death equals no protection for me which equals my death, which I really don't want, so don't die."

"Oh, so all I am is your life line?"

"Well, when you put it that way, yeah."

"Why did I agree to protect such a narcissistic Midgardian like you?" Loki groaned. "Bruce Banner was even on the list of Midgardians! But no, Thor wanted you to be the protected one, wanted you to be my Midgardian survivor."

"Wait, what do you mean Bruce was also on the list! What list?"

"A list of extremely smart people."

"And Midgardian survivor?"

"Yes!" Loki's yelling now. "The gods here want to kill you to keep the aliens from invading because the aliens won't invade if you are dead since they will have no use for you as a disgusting corpse."

"What does this have to do with a list?"

"It was a game!" Anubis groaned. "In order for Loki not to be sent to Thanos, Odin of Asgard proposed that Loki be sent to here to Earth to protect one smart human, to learn to be good. Thor interceded and convinced Loki to protect you, despite Loki's wishes. The aliens are the Asgardians who will come and kill you and then take Loki to Thanos. If you die, then they will take Loki."

"Wait, so do you Greek and Egyptian gods want to kill me?"

"No. They don't. They have to act like it though, act like they want you dead so I have two reasons to keep you alive." Loki sighed.

"All of this was a game?!" Tony exclaimed.

"Yes, it was a bloody game!" Loki yelled back. "A game to see if I have gone down the path of redemption!"

"Why me?"

"I don't know, ask Thor!"

"And was I ever to know?"

"No! But I felt bad, so I gave a few hints, but obviously you're too dense to figure them out!"

"Me? Dense? You need to look in the mirror buddy because you're the dense one here!"

"Oh yes, start flying my insults back at me, Stark!" Loki's really pissed off now. "Me and my friends here were having so much fun with this game, you know? There's a reason why we didn't want the Avengers involved. It's because they'll figure out it's all a game! You were blinded, Stark!"

"Fuck yeah I was blinded! But no thanks to you!"

"Me?"

"Yes you, prancing around in your new armor looking all sexy and shit!" Tony bounced around in a circle. "You with your sob stories that make me sad and your Jotunheim blue skin and horns." Tony put his wrists on his forehead and pointed his pointer fingers up like horns. "You and your tricks! Trying to make this game real!"

"It is real! The outcome of this game determines my fate!"

"So I'm just a piece in your games?"

"We all are!"

"Yeah, well then why did love have to enter the game? Did Aphrodite do this to me? She was helping protect me was she not?"

"Aphrodite has done nothing to you. No one has done anything to you but me." Loki snapped. "And what is this talk about love?"

"Oh, and you call me dense?"

Loki raised an eyebrow, but the other gods all gaped.

"My gods that was not to happen." Anubis exclaimed, putting a hand over his mouth. "I should've noticed this sooner. Loki, we can no longer participate in the game."

"What?" Loki turned to the gods with confusion.

"The game is over, Lokes, and I sort of have to tell you something." Loki turned back to Tony with confusion as the mortal grabbed the god's hands. "I'm in love with you."

Loki's eyes widened and he backed away, yanking his hands away from Tony.

"You...you love me?"

"Yeah. A whole fucking lot." Tony chuckled lightly. "I mean, c'mon, I ran out here suitless under the pretense that doing so will kill me so that way you'll stay alive. That's love, Loki."

"I can't...you can't..." Tony watched Loki as the god seemed conflicted and tongue-tied. "Tony, I..."

Loki turned away and ran past all the gods, using his magic to transport himself somewhere.

"Well, that went better than expected." Tony fidgeted with his fingers. "I thought he was going to kill me when I tell him."

"How long have you been in love?" Seth asked, looking back at the spot Loki was in before he disappeared.

"Oh, I don't know a week or something. I've been infatuated with him for a while though."

"Well then, let's entertain the Avengers with some shooting!" Zeus exclaimed.

"Don't kill me!" Tony squealed as all the god start shooting at him. Surprisingly, he didn't get hurt.

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"And so yeah." Tony stands up, pulling away from the group after telling the story. "Don't worry, I won't go all depressed on you. I probably shouldn't have told him there."

"Whatever the reason, it was brave of you to tell him that right in front of all those gods." Steve pats Tony's back. "C'mon, let's get you cleaned up."

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A/N: So, Tony finally told Loki! next update should be on Saturday, but if I get up to 50+ reviews by then, I'll post early. I know it's an ambitious goal, but I think you can do it. You're already almost half way there! Don't forget to give me prompts (or ask me questions, whatever floats your boat) on Tumblr at love-for-later!tumblr!com (replace the exclamation marks with periods) and to check out my other stories. I love you all!

Toodles,

-loveforlater ❤


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: So, I felt like 'fuck it, let me post this chapter' because this is the last chapter before I start rewriting chapters 12 and on for this story, which means no more middle of the week or double updates :( I hope you enjoy! Next update will seriously and most definitely be on Saturday!

**RaiHopeless**: lol, glad someone noticed that :D hmm, I personally classified Thor as awesome for being able to keep a secret such as the game from Tony. xD

**Esha Napoleon:** I'm truly glad you liked that chapter! It's one of my favs, but this one truly is. You'll see why ;)

**RapunzelInTheSnow**: Dense? xD I guess so...it took them long enough to find out how stupid in love Tony is for Loki. They were distracted by the game, so none of the gods really noticed anyway.

**skydancer2ooo**: I'm sorry that Chapter 10 was a big turn off for you. There's a reason why this is classified under humor and adventure, not romance. Tony got caught in a game and fell in love, while Loki was the main player of the game and did the same. The story was originally supposed to be a bunch of one-shots of Tony telling Loki he's in love with the god, but then one one-shot I wrote, which is basically chapter 10, got me inspired to write this while a different one-shot got me inspired to write Truth and Lies. As for Thor, he wasn't upset just because Tony likes Loki. He's upset (as mentioned/hinted at in the last paragraph of chapter 7) because he _knows_ Loki won't react well and the confession might mess up the game. The **_inner workings_ **;) Anyway, yeah, I hope you keep reading. I would hate to lose someone as a reader because of the fact that it's a been a game the whole time.

**Shreiking Beauty**: I love you too, darling. I'm glad you liked that chapter! I did as well! I'm sure you'll like the next one.

Now, enough replies to the reviews for chapter 10! Let's go on to Chapter 11!

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Chapter 11: Unrequited Love

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_I'm in love with you._

Who in their right mind would fall in love with Loki?

The green-eyed god shudders as Tony's words echo through his brain.

No! This was never supposed to happen!

It all started with an offer from Odin. Either go to Thanos, or go down the path of redemption by playing a game. A game with the Midgardians.

Loki received a list of Midgardians and he had to choose one human to protect from a fake invasion. If he was able to keep the Midgardian safe and not inform the Midgardian of the true plans, then Loki would be forgiven. Unfortunately, the Greek and Egyptian gods were to join in to make the game more difficult.

Loki didn't care though. He knew he would be able to keep his Midgardian survivor safe and win the game. He would just have to act his ass off and go with the script the other gods have created. And so the plan/game was born. Everything was set and ready. All Loki needed to do was pick his Midgardian to protect and learn the rest of the script.

The plot of the game was that Loki's Midgardian is extremely smart and skilled in an art vital to the destruction of the invasion, so the aliens (Asgardians) want to kill him/her so the Midgardian doesn't get in the way of their invasion plans. The Egyptian gods want to kill the Midgardian as well to help the aliens while the Greek gods want to keep their planet safe, so they'll help whoever in order to stay safe. Meanwhile, the Midgardian is never supposed to know that Loki is keeping them alive, so the god has to keep acting like he's terrorizing Midgard. As an extra plus, Loki had to make sure the Avengers don't ever find out because then they will foil the plan.

Given the list, Loki found most of the Avengers on the list and a few other intelligent beings and normal, average Midgardians. Bruce Banner, the Hulk, was the being Loki wanted to protect. The man is extremely smart in the subject of science. He's not a people person and tends to be a loner, so he won't notice a thing.

When Thor heard of Loki's choice, the blonde god begged Loki not to use Banner. If Banner ever found out, which Loki insisted would never happen, the scientist would kill Loki while being that green monster.

"Brother, you will not succeed in keeping Banner safe." Thor protested constantly. "The best choice possible is Tony Stark."

"Tony Stark?" Loki did not like that idea at all.

The Man of Iron is a super genius. And that's not even the best phrase to describe the man with. Plus, Stark probably hates Loki for tossing the mortal out the window. It would be near impossible to keep the game a secret if he's protecting Stark.

Loki proposed these ideas to Thor, who did not agree. Thor told Loki Stark would be the perfect Midgardian used to prove his redemption. Stark would be too invested in himself to realize he's being protected. And even then, the mortal wouldn't tell anyone because he's so egotistical that he would want Loki to keep protecting him.

After nearly a month of an annoying Tony-Stark-needs-to-be-your-Midgardian Thor, Loki grudgingly submitted and told Odin and the other gods of his decision. Loki was immediately sent out to stalk the Midgardian in order to learn more about him to easily protect him.

The first few times Loki "stalked" Stark, he shapeshifted into an employee at the tower. Thanks to a red head named Pepper Potts, he slowly got to learn more about Stark. Like how the man can be a jerk and that Pepper does all the work and that she and Stark are dating. The green-eyed god watched Stark and tracked him, learned as much as he could about his personal life. He didn't know how long it would be until Odin and the other gods started attacking to try to kill Stark, but Loki knew how to protect the man easily without letting the mortal man know and that was by being Loki, the god of mischief instead of a stupid weak mortal employer.

His first battle with the Avengers was entertaining to say the least. They were obviously expecting Loki to do more damage than he did, but he mostly wanted to distract the gods and the Avengers so he can learn more about how the Man of Iron fights. Eventually, terrorizing the city of New York became a bit of a hobby. Both he and Stark exchanged with remarks and constantly fought a lot. Loki thanked Thor for the pestering about Stark because wow, this was becoming a lot of fun.

Odin called for Loki a couple months into the terrorizing business to give him a change of script and a new outfit, an outfit made of mostly disgusting Midgardian clothes cast with minor spells of protection. The new script contained an alternate plan if the Midgardian finds out Loki's protecting him. Either way, the result is the same, Loki gets sent to Thanos, but this way, the Midgardian won't get too mixed up and affected by the game. After all, Loki only needs to prove his innocence a few times and then he's free.

The fight immediately after his outfit and script change, Stark took notice and sort of acted a little weird, commenting on the outfit change. It didn't help that Loki was playing along. Thor came over to Loki during the fight and informed the god that the first attack from Odin was to happen in San Francisco.

The god immediately transported himself over and found Sif and the Warrior's Three under glamours that made them look like big blue giants. Jotunheim frost giants to be exact. Enraged by the insulting form, Loki found it hard to stay to the script, but he did so and almost killed Thor's buddies. Finding a SHIELD camera, Loki decided to give Odin a little message for kicks, letting Odin know that he's still angry about the lies. He also sort of lead the Avengers on, letting them think he's accidentally protecting Midgard when he's really protecting Tony, but of course, none of them know that. After that near death fight, Loki ran into Seth, catching up on the little changes of the plan. Later, Loki talked to Prometheus to let his people know of the changes.

Seth, Anubis and Set called for Loki days before his next planned attack with the Avengers, so the god had to travel to Egypt. Apparently Hela, Loki's daughter, heard of the game from Anubis (Loki's ex and Hela's current boyfriend) and she was very much upset that he was playing around with Midgardians again.

"Father, I know you want your redemption," Hela started as they sat down at a table near the Nile river. Loki stared off toward the river, watching someone build some sort of bridge over the strip of water, "but, I have found a different way for you to achieve this without messing around with Midgard and Tony Stark." Loki turned to his daughter at the sound of that name. "You enjoy this game, do you not?"

"Of course I do, it's entertaining." Loki snorted, grabbing his glass of wine. "I get to terrorize these pathetic mortals once more to prove my innocence."

"The battles are only to lead Stark off the leads you might leak while fighting Odin and the others." Hela placed her glass down and stared at Loki with her poison green eyes. "Anubis and I think you are taking this too seriously. You are playing with Stark."

"Playing with him? He doesn't even know about this! Only Thor does and he will not tell anyone! He promised under a vow." Loki hissed. "This is nothing but a game."

"Then why don't you quit and take a different route? All you need to do is spend time in Jotunheim with your race."

"You want me to go back there?" Loki exclaimed, angry. "I'd rather stay here. I enjoy this game too much to quit right now. Protecting Stark is fun, Hela. I can't just stop."

"Why?" Hela's lip curled into a smile, her long finger nails clicking against the table. "Is Stark too interesting to let go?"

"What are you implying?" Loki leaned in.

"The Greeks have decided to take this seriously. They truly want to kill Stark."

"What?" Loki's eyes widen. "They can't do that! I have to protect him. Stark is my Midgardian. He can't die. I don't care if I get sent to Thanos, that man is innocent!"

Hela's smile turned into a grin as she sipped her wine.

"I think you are getting a bit possessive of Stark here, Father."

"What?" Loki turned as something moved from the corner of his eye.

Stark. He was the one building the bridge.

Loki invited the man over to talk and they chatted about bridge building and Hela once she left. The green-eyed god had never felt more comfortable talking to someone as he chatted with the mortal man. He supposed this meant something. Not just to him, but also to Stark because the man could've immediately called SHIELD, but he didn't.

Tony Stark didn't rat Loki out.

And maybe that's when Loki's infatuation started.

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A week later, Thor called Loki for a big emergency at the Stark tower. The god had sent the Avengers out of the tower so they don't attack Loki.

"My brother, I am sorry." was the first thing Thor told Loki when the god arrived.

"What has gotten you apologetic?"

"The Lady Widow knows of the plan."

Loki went on a rage and almost tore the floor apart with anger. Thor was almost in tears as Loki ranted, his green magic swirling around him.

No one was supposed to find out! No Avenger was supposed to know anything about the plan! Thor told Loki that the Lady Widow eavesdropped on his conversation with Odin about the plan and when confronted, he was coerced into telling the woman the whole plan.

"Did she promise not to tell anyone?" Loki asked, completely shirtless since he ripped his shirt when he broke the television.

"Yes. She said she believes that you can reach redemption without hurting anyone, but she said not to mess with Stark's heart."

"Mess with his heart? We aren't friends." Loki snorted. "We talked in Egypt, but-"

Thor's face lit up at that and Loki was about to comment when someone entered the room with an exclamation of 'Hey everyone! I'm back!'. It was Stark of course and he was staring at Loki as if entranced. Black Widow's comment about Stark's heart racked Loki's brain as he spoke.

Was Stark in love with Loki, or just distracted by his current undressed state? Whatever the reason, Loki felt a little bad (he won't ever admit this, but he's been feeling this way since his conversation with Hela) and so he gave Stark his number so the man could contact him and maybe Loki can 'accidentally' let Stark know about the plan.

Loki was sitting in a condo he got courtesy of Pepper (who by the way broke up with Tony) when Tony (finally) texted. The message was 'I hate you' and as much as Loki will deny, he knows in the back of his mind that he was grinning like an idiot from Tony's text. He texted the mortal man back, using playful banter with Tony. He even told Tony about his next planned attack and asked if the man was going to be there.

Tony said he would, so Loki organized his attack so only a bolt of energy could stop the creature he created, but Tony didn't show up, so Loki ended up killing his creature himself. The next day, Loki sent a text about how sad it was that the man didn't come.

About a week later, Amora came by Loki's place, and to say the least, they aren't the best of friends, possibly the worst. Anyway, she heard of the game and didn't like that Loki was messing around with Thor's friends. Here Loki made a snark comment about her going soft and rooting for the Avengers.

As Loki thinks back on this, that comment was probably what got him transported into that empty warehouse and tied to a magic draining machine. Amora got his cell phone and tried to call Thor to try to get the god to stop playing the game as well. Instead of calling Thor though, she called Tony, which was a bit embarrassing.

"How cute, you even have the man's number!" Amora giggled after she ended the call. "'Stark, get your ass over here'! I thought you're supposed to be his protector, not the other way around."

She totally deserved the bolt of magic in her face that she got. But, Loki didn't deserve his magic getting sapped out of his body for that. He doesn't know when he passed out or when Tony came, but when Loki opened his eyes again, Tony was directly in his vision and out of the corner of his eye, Loki could see Thor and Amora fighting and talking, most likely about the plan. The mortal man fondled Loki's cheek and hugged him. Obviously something was wrong. Tony's face was turning red often and he kept avoiding eye contact. Amora must've put a spell on him (which goes against the rules of the game: no one can cast spells on the Midgardian except Loki).

Tony didn't have any spells that Loki could detect, and the man agreed and proceeded to get even more awkward. Loki left then and spent the next few days recovering and fighting off Asgardians masked as frost giants.

Loki arrived at the Stark tower hours after a meeting with the Greek gods because he needed to talk to Thor. The plan got a little changed. The Avengers must be told not to interfere with the plan instead of Loki making sure they don't. While the Lady Widow can be somewhat trusted, she might slip, no matter how improbable that is. Loki decided to somehow tell Tony of the game. Messing around with the mortal was getting harder every day when they texted each other and acted a bit like friends.

When Loki used his magic to disparate after talking with Thor, he landed in a room that was certainly not his own. A woman with bright red hair looked up from her book and smiled at Loki. This was the Lady Widow, the woman he wanted to talk to.

"Loki. I've been waiting for you to come talk to me." the woman climbed off her bed and strode over to the god. "You do know that I know."

"Yes, Thor has informed me of his mistake and your persuasiveness." Loki smirked. "Yet, I am not here to complain or reinsure that you will not tell anyone. There has been a change of plan. I'm telling Stark of the plan."

"Won't that mean you get sent to Thanos?"

"I do not know. Anubis and I are having a talk in a couple days and after that talk, I am to tell Tony that I'm protecting him. I won't tell him it's a game and the rule is that if anyone finds out this is a game, I leave for Thanos."

"Loki, why?"

"It is of no importance. The gods and I think I've mostly redeemed myself." Loki turned from the woman. "I thank you, Lady Widow."

"Natasha." she called, causing Loki to turn back to her.

"Of course, Natasha." Loki smiled and transported himself back to his place, changing into some mortal clothes.

As the god brushed his hair, he put it in a ponytail since it's getting long. Seconds later, his cell phone ringed and Tony Stark was the caller ID number.

Loki answered and Tony just yelled something about wanting to crush Loki. Loki panicked. Did Tony find out? Did Thor tell the man? Did the gods take Tony?

In a flash, Loki found himself in Tony's room, probably looking wild, but he didn't care. The immortal eventually found out that Tony cares for him deeply and Loki admitted that he too cares for Tony, as he constantly saves the man from attacks and others of the like. The conversation got personal and Loki got extremely angry. Tony did as well. Their fight was making Loki exhausted and tired and then something Tony said, Loki doesn't recall what it was, caused Loki to break and then he was crying. Pathetically crying. And to make matters worse, his magic decided to go wacko on him (it was less controlled thanks to Amora) and make his Aesir glamour come off, leaving himself in his disgusting true form.

Tony didn't seem to mind. The mortal seemed to love Loki's form. He called it beautiful and told Loki he didn't care that Loki looked like that. Loki found that hard to believe though and left Tony, angry and in tears.

Two days later, Loki went to Egypt with a temper and no tolerance for any tricks. He was upset when he felt Tony's presence in Egypt, but this meant he and Anubis could 'fight' (act) in front of the man and Loki can tell Tony that he's been protecting him from the gods and aliens.

That's exactly what Loki did and he even expected Stark to tell his buddies. Everything would be perfect! The finale would be a real serious attack from the gods at the Stark tower. They will personally try to kill Tony and if Loki can keep him alive, then that proves that Loki can care and that he's gone down the path of redemption.

Days later, Loki went to the Stark tower and put protection spells over it so Tony will be safe inside. Finally, about a week after Loki told Tony he's protecting the mortal man, the gods came. Loki and all the gods acted their asses off and inflicted real damage on each other. Loki got off the ground after Anubis kicked him and got ready to hit Anubis and then with his last bit of magic, push the gods away to keep Tony safe.

And then the fool interrupted the act by flying into it. Loki got angry, enraged. Tony is supposed to stay safe inside. Loki can deal with the lightning and the magic! He'll be ok. Tony will die because the gods are really trying to kill him this time.

Since Tony obviously wouldn't leave (which warmed Loki's heart), Loki casted a protection spell on him and kicked him into a building to keep him safe. Looking up, Loki could spot Thor and Natasha in the window nodding at him.

Good.

Now, here's the last part, where Loki says he wants to die. Zeus will ready his lightning bolt and strike. Anubis will use his magic to block the bolt, but take most of the damage and then Loki will use his magic to send away all the gods. It's perfect and fool proof. Tony stays alive and Loki is redeemed.

Of courses the fool jumped out of his suit and ran to Loki to try to stop him from killing himself. Now though, the plan is ruined. Zeus can't strike or he'll kill Loki and he can't kill Loki. The only way to continue is to get Tony to leave. Loki can't transport the man to the tower because the idiot will just run back out. Looking up, Loki spotted Thor and Natasha confused as well.

Tony kept talking and his voice was annoying Loki, who was irritated and sore and just wanted to end the damn game. Anubis submitted and told Tony that the whole thing was a game to prove Loki has been mentally healed. Loki confirmed the statement and then Tony got mad and before Loki knew it, they were yelling and do friends typically yell this much? Tony called Loki distracting (damn him) and then asked if Aphrodite has put a spell on him because somehow love got into the equation.

Loki's throat closed up because he knew what's coming next. He saw Anubis freeze and saw all the other gods freeze.

This was never supposed to happen.

And then Tony said it.

"I'm in love with you."

And Loki panicked.

No! No! No! Tony doesn't love Loki, no one loves Loki because who can? Loki got tongue-tied and confused and then the faces Tony makes at him make sense! He was looking at Loki with love and adoration and Loki felt sick. How could anyone look at Loki that way? When, no why, did Tony fall in love?

Loki fled the scene like a mad man and landed in a green field somewhere far away from New York. He needed to think. Think about the game and everything he's done to make Tony fall in love with him. And he can't think of a single thing.

Loki lashes out, a ring of magic exploding around him, burning the grass nearby. Yes, he cares for Tony. A _lot_. Maybe more than he should. And on occasion, Loki feels happy to see Tony or to get a text from him. The man may be a jerk, but Loki's seen a side of Tony people probably don't see often, if at all.

_Tony Stark is in love with me, a bipolar Aesir frost giant. A disgusting blue monster. Yet, he loves me._

Loki blushes furiously as he thinks about Tony loving him. As if they are a domestic couple or something. And yes, maybe if everything was normal, Loki wouldn't mind Tony loving him. But, things are not normal. The god is a monster, both inside and out. He may have proved redemption, but he is still a frost giant. Very much so. Tony Stark is his enemy, his foe. They might be friends, but anything more than that is unnecessary...right?

Loki feels a weird pang in his chest as he thinks about Tony loving him. The god finds it...comforting to know that someone besides Thor loves him.

And maybe since he's no longer 'evil', Loki can accept someone else's love. And accept falling in love.

So far, Tony seems like the best person to start with. For both.

* * *

A/N: Loki POV is fun to write in. there'll be more from his POV later on. I'm not that big a fan of the ending to this chapter though...I'll probably come back and edit it. Please review! If I hit 50, I have a little side story to this I'll share ;)

Toodles,

-loveforlater ❤


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

During the next month, the Avengers go through New York and help clean up the damage Loki and the other gods made playing their game. As promised, Tony hasn't gone depressed on his friends, yet he feels a bit down all the time, probably from unrequited love. He's been texting Loki almost everyday since no one, not even Thor, knows where the god went. Tony just hopes that Loki hasn't killed himself or hated himself more. He hopes that Loki's risen to the bait and has decided to try Tony out. If so, Tony will die and then come back to life to kiss Loki and go out with him. The man will be sure to show Loki all the pleasures of dating, including sex.

Tony grins widely and he thanks his helmet that no one can see his crazy smile.

"Sir, you have received a text message from Loki."

Tony almost drops the hunk of metal he was carrying at the sound of Loki's name.

"Really? What is it, Jarvis?" Tony says happily.

"The message says 'Try me', sir."

"Try me? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Tony shrugs and continues dragging the metal. "Text him back with the message "Try you at what"."

"Yes sir." Jarvis replies. "The message has been sent."

Tony smiles and tosses the metal into a pile before going back to the destroyed building. Loki has finally contacted someone and maybe Tony's reading this wrong, but Loki contacted him first! Not Thor or Natasha (who's been just as worried as Thor. The two have been spending a lot of time together for reasons unknown to Tony), but him, Tony Stark!

Maybe Loki's accepted that Tony's in love with the god. But if that's true, then does 'try me' mean 'go out with me' or 'prove to me that you love me'?

"Loki has texted back, sir."

"Read the message."

"'Prove it, Stark. Find me and prove it'."

Tony smiles wickedly. There are many ways he can prove he loves Loki. He can be all romantic, or static, or ask Thor for advice, wait scratch that.

"Text him back with 'first of all, you have to tell me where you are, honey'."

"Are sure you want to use the endearment, sir?"

"Yes, use it. He'll just blush heavily or come over to yell at me." Tony rolls his eyes with affection. "God, I love that man too much for it to be good. How do I get happy at the notion of him yelling at me?"

"Hey, Tony!" Clint calls, distracting the genius from his talking. "Natasha, Thor and I are going to the building down the block. Steve and Bruce are gonna stay here and help you out."

Tony nods in response and zooms around his building before dropping down and grabbing some more metal.

Natasha, Thor and Clint have been leaving together often. Usually, Natasha will say she and Clint have to go some where and then Thor claims to have to go to Asgard, but when ever the three come back, it's Natasha and Thor first, usually chatting about something, and then Clint comes about a few hours later.

Tony thinks maybe Clint's covering for Thor's relationship with Natasha. Tony wouldn't be surprised if he followed the three one day and spotted Natasha and Thor making out while Clint went off to go meet with somebody or something.

"Loki has texted ba-"

"Read it."

"'Why should I tell you when I'm right over here?'"

"Wait, what?" Tony blurts before he turns and finds himself face to face with a smirking Loki who's leaning on a broken post. Tony's face lights up and he takes off his helmet, tossing it to the side before he runs to the god, taking him in a hug.

"Oh my god, Lokes, don't ever do that again." Tony says, tears welling in his eyes. "Next time you disappear for a month, tell me where you're going first, ok?"

"What?" Loki says, confused. Tony pulls away. "I was gone for a month?"

"Yes, a long month." Tony grabs onto the gods hands. "But, I'm glad you're back, I really am!"

"Hmm," Loki says absentmindedly. "I forget about the time difference between here and Asgard."

"Really? How long did you think you were gone?"

"Only day at most, maybe a few hour or so at the least." Loki's eyes glaze over.

"Reindeer, are you ok?" Tony asks, looking up at Loki's face. He finds the god extremely pale and his eyes aren't as bright green anymore. They are also crossed-eyed a bit. "Loki, sit down. You are not fine."

"I what?" Loki looks down at Tony with more confusion. Tony forces the god onto the ground, sitting beside him. "Wait, what's going on?"

"Lokes, you're sick." Tony says, standing up. "Stay here, I will be back. Let me get you some water."

"Wait, no! Don't go!" Loki grabs onto the suited hand, causing Tony to stop. "I'm ok. I'm fine. Everything is fine."

"Are you sure?" Loki nods, so Tony sits back down. "How has your month been? Rather, where were you?"

"Hmm?" Loki looks at Tony with gold eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you."

"Wait a minute. You're not Loki, are you?" Tony backs away from Not-Loki as it transforms into a blue scaled creature who smiles with her fangs.

"I was wondering when you would notice, Tony Stark." she purrs, getting onto her feet. "It seems as if you're quite interested in Loki here."

"So, you were texting me?"

"Of course!" Mystique laughs and Tony can't help but think her laugh is pretty. "Hmm, I thought I would have to be Pepper Potts for that trick to work. It's nice to know that Loki will come in handy."

"Where is he?" Tony growls, getting into a fighting stance. "Tell me where Loki is now!"

"To be honest, I do not know." the blue scaled woman sighs. "Loki is a hard one to morph into. I should've given myself another hour before coming to you."

"What do you want from me?"

"What do I want from you?" Mystique laughs once more, cat like gold eyes staring at Tony. "I don't want anything from you. I just want you to know that not everything is what it seems."

"Is this a warning or something?" Tony crosses his arms, watching Mystique grin.

"You may take it as one." the woman smiles once more before she disappears into the building.

"Damn it. And I thought I had Loki." Tony growls. "I hate shapeshifters."

"Tony?" Steve calls, running inside to stand behind the other man. "I thought I hear Loki or something. Was he here?"

"No, but Mystique was." Tony spits, grabbing his helmet to put it on. "Damn bitch tricked me." Iron Man puts a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Just watch out, ok? She's a good shapeshifter and I don't want you taken away because of her. I don't want any of my friends to be tricked by her, understand?"

Steve nods hesitantly, but it's still a nod, so Tony grabs his metal and flies off.

After about three hours or so of flying around and discarding metal, Tony literally bumps into a frazzled Thor wielding his hammer.

"Man of Iron," Thor starts as the two float in the sky. "Have you seen Loki?"

"Nope. I saw someone who can shapeshift into Loki, but no. Not Loki himself."

"Mystique. Natasha has informed me of her. It seems as if Magneto's crew has decided to try and take over Earth since Loki has gone missing." Thor sighs. "I only wonder when she saw Loki."

"I don't know. She told me that she doesn't know where he is and that not everything is what it seems, so if you ever see your brother or any Avengers, watch out. Double check to see if it is Mystique or not."

"How do I do that?"

Tony smiles wickedly.

"Follow me." Tony flies down to the ground where Clint, Natasha, Steve, and Bruce are. "Hey guys, I saw Mystique earlier, so I think it's best that we all come up with a question only we know the answer to that we must ask when we see each other. This is our safety precaution for Mystique."

"Ok, personal questions, or group questions?" Clint asks, fidgeting with his bow.

"Let's. Get. Personal." Tony grins evilly and everyone else moans and groans. "First off, me! Ok, here's my question: Who am I in love with?"

"That's bullshit, Tony! Everyone in the world knows that." Clint scoffs. "Plus Mystique already knows that, so that won't work."

Tony pouts.

"Ok then, how about the day Pepper and I broke up?"

"Also public." Natasha comments. "Let's start with someone else. Your life is extremely public, Tony. It would take days to come up with a question."

"Ok, um, Thor you're next." Clint grins at Thor.

"Oh, how about my brother's nickname!" Thor grins happily. "When Mother, Odin, Loki and I would be together, my mother would call Loki her Lokipoki."

"Hence the reason why he poked people with his scepter." Clint growls under his breath.

"He hated the name." Thor tags on.

"Ok then, whenever you see Thor, ask what Loki's childhood nickname was." Tony turns to Natasha. "Your turn, darling." The red head simply gives Tony a look. "Clint. It's actually you who's going next."

"Fine then. The day I almost died getting drunk."

"November 15." Tony smiles widely. "That was probably one of the best days of my life."

"Shut up, Stark." Clint grumbles, glaring at the ground. "It was your idea to get wasted."

"And your idiocy to try to join the attack against Loki while drunk." Tony smirks. "Next up, Steve."

"The name of my girl back in the 40's."

"Peggy." Natasha says quietly, no one commenting on the fact that she responded to the comment. "Stark, you go."

"Real name of Jarvis."

"Just A Rather Very Intelligence System."

"Right." Tony nods. "Up next, Tasha."

The group continues asking questions, getting their bearings straight so they'll be prepared for Mystique and her crew.

"Oh my fucking god, what is that?" Clint exclaims, watching something fall from the sky. "Don't tell me it's the Chitauri or something similar."

No responds, but Natasha and Thor exchange glances. The thunder god shoots up into the sky and Natasha sprints down the street, tapping Clint who runs after her.

"What is it with those three?" Tony murmurs under his breath before flying off in the direction the ex-assassins went in. Landing beside them, Tony finds Thor holding a dead looking human in his arms. It seems like Thor's murmurings something and wait, is the god...crying?

Natasha runs to Thor's side, putting a hand on the thunder god's shoulder. Her face pales as she looks down at the figure.

"Who is it?" Clint asks. Tony follows him to the others, as confused as hell. "Holy shit, who did this to him?"

"I do not know." Thor stands properly, cradling the body in his arms. "We will have to ask when he awakes."

"Who is it?" Tony asks, damning his shortness because he can't see the face of the person in Thor's arms. Everyone seems to notice he's there and the blonde god sighs dramatically.

"Fenrir, Man of Iron. Fenrir is one of Loki's sons. His oldest to be exact." Tony pales visibly.

"Who would do this to him? And why would he come down here to Earth?" Tony asks as the group starts walking.

"Is he ok?"

Everyone turns to spot a tattered and battered Loki in damaged armor running toward them, hair slicked back and long, in a short ponytail. Thor's face lights up and Tony's breath hitches. It's been a month since he's seen Loki and damn it, Tony is so glad to know the god is still around, especially after Mystique tricked him.

"Wait!" Tony calls, jumping between his friends and Loki. "Are you really Loki?"

Loki stops in his tracks and raises an eyebrow.

"What do you think, Stark?" the mischief god crosses his arms. "Do I look like myself?"

"My dear brother, you do recall what Mother used to call you when we were younger."

Loki's eyes widen and he shakes his head.

"No. No, you will not call me by that name."

"You got to say what it is, Bambi. That's the rules of the game."

Loki scrunches up in nose in response. Tony smiles at the cute look, wishing he could just scoop up the god and squeeze him like a teddy bear.

"Lokipoki."

Tony grins widely and rushes to Loki, taking him in a hug. The god hugs back, wrapping his arms around Tony's neck. The mortal raises his eyebrows at the response. Something bad must have happened if Loki is actually hugging Tony back.

"I've missed you." Tony murmurs, listening to the god chuckle lightly.

"Me too."

* * *

A/N: Don't forget to review! And the next chapter is in one week :D


	13. Chapter 13: April Fools

A/N: Here's the next chapter!

* * *

"So, you'll be alright, right?" Tony asks, watching Loki look down at his son with tired green eyes. The rest of the Avengers left the room moments ago after Fenrir was settled into the hospital bed.

"I will be fine. I only worry for my son." the god looks up at Tony with a sad smile. "I'm sorry for leaving for a month."

"It's cool. I understand." the man chuckles awkwardly. "I told you I'm in love with you in a really awkward situation. I actually thought you were going to kill me or something."

"Why would I kill someone for whom I care for?" Loki cocks his head before turning back to the injured teen beside him. "I didn't want this."

"Want what?"

"I'm going to Thanos."

Tony's heart stops beating for a second. His eyes widen and his skin grows cold.

"You're what?" he exclaims, his shock turning to boiling anger in seconds. "You can't go to Thanos! According to the whole deal thingy, you didn't do anything wrong that warrants you going to that bitch!"

"According to the 'whole deal thingy', I told you I was protecting you when I shouldn't have." Loki stands, his face void of emotion. "My punishment would be much worse, but Odin decided to spare me some pity by letting Fenrir loose and confining to Midgard."

"I just..." Tony shakes his head. "Is there anything we can do to help you not go to Thanos? He'll kill you."

"No, he won't." Loki's voice drips with sadness and pain. "He won't ever kill me."

The room grows cold and dark.

"Loki, if there's any way out of this, you've got to take it." Tony grabs the god's hands, ignoring the slight flinch Loki gives. "Look at me." Loki doesn't budge. "Look at me you stubborn ass." Loki rolls his eyes but looks into Tony's eyes with a sigh. "Tell me how you can get out of this. I don't want you with Thanos. I want you here with me. On Midgard. With the Avengers. And Fenrir. Do you understand?"

"I understand, Tony, but understanding something is different than taking action."

"Take action, damnit! I know you know a way out of this and I don't know why you're not telling me it. Is it because of what I said? Are you that disgusted by the fact that I love you that you'd rather get tortured by Thanos than stay here on Midgard? Because if so, you have a shitty way of thinking, Loki. You don't have to stay here with me. You can go to South America with Fenrir and completely ignore me for the rest of my life. _I. Don't. Care._ Just please don't go to Thanos when you know you don't have to. I love you and I know that's a pretty shitty argument since you left for a month after I told you, but-"

Tony stops as he realizes that Loki's actually crying. The god's head is down and his black hair frames his face. Tony can just barely hear the choked back sobs coming from Loki's mouth.

"Loki?" Tony asks, letting go of the god's hands. Loki doesn't respond. "Don't cry. I'm sorry if I've made you upset. I take back whatever I said that made you cry. Unless it's me letting you know I love you because I won't ever take that back. I'm sorry."

Loki looks up from the ground with a chuckle before turning to the camera

"I'm so sorry, what's my next line?"

"'_I'm not crying because of that.'_" I reply with a chuckle. "And then you look up and then Tony says his next line."

"Oh right. Haha, sorry."

"It's cool." I step onto the set. "Ok, retake of scene 13 part 2 in order! Loki needs his makeup redone and Tony, take a breather for a second." I walk back to my seat as Loki and Tony walk off stage. Fenrir jumps out of bed and heads over the other Avengers off screen. "I think I'll rewrite the next scene and maybe a bit of this one, ok? After the confession, I need a little more umph if you know what I mean."

"That's fine."

I nod and take out my laptop before opening the chapter.

"I hate rewriting."

* * *

A/N: April Fool's Day, darlings! The real chapter will be posted on Friday :3

-loveforlater


	14. Chapter 13: The Real Version

A/N: Ok, here's the real chapter xD

* * *

"So, what brings you here after a month of absence?" Tony asks, leaning on the god's chair.

"I was gone for a month?" Loki questions, turning to Thor and Natasha, who nod in response. "I did not mean to take so long."

"It's cool. I mean-"

"I was gone for my trial." Green eyes look up at Tony and then turn back to the hospital bed where Fenrir is currently laying. "And I was probably most likely also avoiding you, Tony."

"Avoiding me?" Tony coughs lightly, ignoring the looks all the Avengers are giving him. Loki nods sadly. "I'm not mad about it or anything. In fact, it was sort of expected."

"Good. So, you won't be too distraught when I don't ever come back."

"What do you mean?"

Thor pales and walks towards his brother, who sends him a dark glare in response.

"Brother, why? I thought you passed."

"I did not. I told Anthony about me protecting him, therefore I broke one of the rules. Also, I had the chance to stop Anubis from explaining the game, but I did not take that chance, so I was the one who told the  
mortal of the whole game, breaking the most important rule of all." Loki sighs heavily. "Yet, Odin felt pity for me and decided to let Fenrir free. Not like it makes a difference. I still won't be able to see my son while I'm...away."

"Away?" Tony paled, standing up straight. "You're going to Thanos?!"

"That is the result of my trial."

"You don't deserve to go there! I would've found out about the plan myself anyway!" Tony doesn't miss the look Loki and Thor exchange. "Loki, you've got to know a way out of this or something. Another trial where the Avengers can be your witnesses."

"The Avengers can not be my witnesses for many reasons." Loki turns to Tony with soulless eyes. "Number one, you are in love with me and your view of the whole issue is tainted."

"How is it tainted? It just proves that you're so not-evil anymore that even I can fall in love with you."

"Or it proves how stupid you are to fall in love with someone deemed as evil as me."

Silence echoes through the room and Loki continues with his explanation.

"Number two, the Avengers are your friends and are most likely to support your views than that of the Allfather and his council. Number three, Natasha did not tell anyone the secret and while that was fine, she's an Avenger and her reasons for keeping the secret are once more likely to be supported by the rest of you."

Tony stares at Loki, watching the way the god sags his shoulders and stares at Fenrir in the hospital bed. Yet, there's something weird about his posture, besides the fact that Loki no longer sits up as straight like a prince anymore. It seems devoid of all hope, of all possiblities, like he's given up on himself.

Loki had started off the game thinking he was going to lose, didn't he? He never thought he was going to be redeemed, hence telling Tony and letting Anubis tell Tony of the game. And then on top of all of that, Tony announces his love, proving to Loki how deranged Tony is to fall in love with someone like him and how crazy Loki must be to care for someone as deranged as Tony.

"Loki, why did you set yourself up like this?"

"What?"

"Why did you do this to yourself?" the man stares into the god's eyes, trying to dechiper what Loki's thinking.

_He knows_.

Loki knows what Tony is talking about. And Loki knows he didn't have to do this, but he did because he wanted to prove to some mystical being that yes, he is a crazy god who's craft is lies and evil. But he's not. Tony saw that many a time that Loki does have good in his heart. So why is he letting himself do this? There must be a way out o-shit! That's what that weird posture was! While he's very good at lying, Loki seems to have missed a spot. He still looks confident as if there's something he knows that no one else does.

"Stark, I appreciate you knowing how good I look, but the staring is a bit-"

"Tell me how we can get you out of this."

Loki freezes midsentence, narrowing his eyes at Tony, who smirks in response.

"You can't."

"Yes, we can. You know how you can get out of going to Thanos, but you're not telling us why for some odd reason. You still believe that you're some evil god who's sole purpose in life is to cause destruction, but no, it's not. I know myself and I know I wouldn't have fallen in love with you if I didn't see the good in you myself." The god doesn't speak, so Tony continues. "Take action, damnit! I know you know a way out of this and I don't know why you're not telling me it. Is it because of what I said? Are you that disgusted by the fact that I love you that you'd rather get tortured by Thanos than stay here on Midgard? Because if so, you have a shitty way of thinking, Loki. You don't have to stay here with me. You can go to South America with Fenrir and completely ignore me for the rest of my life. _I. Don't. Care._ Just please don't go to Thanos when you know you don't have to. I love you and I know that's a pretty shitty argument since you left for a month after I told you, but I'm speaking the truth here."

Loki's mouth is a complete white line, but his eyes are sparkling with happiness. Happy that someone finally figured him out, finally won the other part of the game.

"I have one wish before I go." Loki turns back to the Avengers. "I want Fenrir to stay with you. I want you take care of him and let him know I won't ever see him again." Tony opens his mouth to  
complain, but a look from Loki shuts him up. "I want you to treat him like your own son Stark because as of now he is."

It takes Tony a couple moments for him to dechiper Loki's words, but when he does, he freaks.

"Um, Loki, can I speak with you outside?"

Loki nods and brushes a strained of hair from Fenrir's face before following Tony outside.

"Are you crazy?!" Tony starts, closing the door behind him. "I mean, not literally because I don't think you're crazy. I mean it as in why are you putting your son in my care?"

"I trust you." Loki smiles warmly. "I trust you with everything."

If that wasn't a sort of proclamation of love, Tony doesn't know what is.

"Why?"

"I spent a day in Asgard for my trial and a week in Jotunheim avoiding coming down to Midgard." Loki turns away. "During that time, I thought about my decisions. I originally thought I could be redeemed, but as I got to know you and started to care, I knew I wouldn't. That is why I told you about keeping you safe. I couldn't keep the secret from you anymore." Tony takes a step closer to the god. "Odin of course did not believe that. Frigga and Thor did. Thor said he chose you as my Midgardian because he wanted me to learn to love someone. He thought you were the best because our histories are similar. We are the same man who took a different path and Thor wants us to walk the same path."

"What are you trying to say?" Tony whispered lightly, watching Loki turn to him with vibrant green eyes swirling with conflicting emotions.

Tony knows right then and there that Loki is in love with him. The god just hasn't acknowledged it yet.

"I love you."

Tony nods slowly, taking Loki's face in his hands.

"I love you, too, Loki." he says before leaning forward to press his lips to that gentle mouth he's been itching to kiss for weeks.

Loki kisses back with a smile, hands gently resting on Tony's hips. Tony swears this is the best day of his life.

_Loki loves him back._

Everything is fine. Everything is perfect. Everything is-

Wait.

Loki still has to go to Thanos.

Tony opens his eyes to find gold ones staring back at him. The pale skin of Loki slowly morphs into the blue scales of Mystique.

"I'm sorry." she says, grabbing the horrified man's hands. "He had to go."

"He's...gone?"

"He's gone. I'm sorry."

"Was he even here? Did I even talk to him? What's going on?" Tony pulls away with tears blurring his vision.

"We met earlier and he told me to give you a message: _Everything is not what it seems_. Loki told me to morph into him when he leaves so your last memory of him will be a good one."

"I don't care if my last memory of him isn't good! At least it would be really him." Tony sniffles lightly. "How much did he really say?"

"Everything." Tony's heart soars. At least Loki really- "Everything but 'I love you'."

"Did he tell you to say that?" the man asks, desperate to know if Loki loves him back.

"No. When his clone transported me here, I just said what I thought he was feeling. Loki told me a lot about you. He really cares for you. I think he loves you."

Tony doesn't comment and watches Mystique run down the hallway after another apology and a curt goodbye.

"Hey Tony, you okay?" Steve asks, opening the door. The other man doesn't turn to face his friend. He continues to stare into the empty hall where Loki used to be.

"He's gone, Steve. And he's never coming back."

* * *

A/N: Poor Tony and Loki. Will they ever get together? lol Don't forget to review!


	15. Chapter 15

I am leaving. For years I have been dishonest with my family and my parents about my personal and online behavior and activity. I created this account, a Yahoo account, Tumblr and AO3 account amongst others a month ago despite the rules given to me that state I have no permission to create these accounts. For two years, I have been slacking off with my schoolwork, not turning in assignments and not completing the assignments. One affect of these actions is that my grades have gone from straight A's to barely being able to get a C. I have also been acting out against my sister, so my parents told me no online accounts until I get my grades back together.

Now, they have discovered my lies, and I lied even more once caught. So, this will be my last post before I close down these respective accounts. I'm saying goodbye to you all out of respect for the community, the readers, and the encouragement given to me. If you see me again, it will be a sign that I have ceased the lying and have gotten back to doing simple things, such as doing my homework.


End file.
